A Princess' Heart
by bentohouse
Summary: AU. When a political marriage seemed the best solution to end the war, Quistis made the decision to follow her head instead of her heart but love has a mysterious way of surprising her in unexpected places. Maybe the person she gave her hand to is also the one her heart belongs to. Rated M for language and mild violence. Seiftis.
1. Wars and Old Wounds

**Chapter One – Wars and Old Wounds**

Quistis Trepe was a terrible liar.

And that became the first lie she told herself. There came a string more following that first one—lies to herself and other people, intentional and unconscious. She was such a good liar that she even believed her own lies.

Believing that her work defined who she was, how she was being appreciated. Believing that she loved Squall Leonhart. Believing that she didn't. Believing that she was powerless to stop the war. But as she sat alone on her bed with the setting sun throwing shadows on the floor of her room, Quistis felt the first crack in her wall of self-deception.

There was a faint knock on the door that she barely heard. When she ignored it, she heard it open and moments later, her brother Irvine was standing over her, concern written all over his face.

"You alright, Quis?" he asked, sitting down beside her. She stared at him blankly and turned away, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I'm sorry, it was a stupid question. Of course you're not alright. Your best friend just died and—"

"I don't want to talk about it, Irvine," she cut him off sharply.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I was just…" he sighed and shut up.

Really, there was nothing to say. Xu was dead and no words could convince Quistis that things would be alright.

"It's this stupid war," Irvine muttered, more to himself than to her. She glanced at him. While she did agree that the war was stupid, she also understood that there was nothing either of them could do to change things.

Just two years ago, things had been almost perfect. But then their parents had died unexpectedly in a hunting expedition and Irvine was crowned King. With the whole nation still in mourning, Galbadian troops had swooped in and tried to take over the kingdom, taking advantage of the vulnerable state of the Balamb people.

But while Balamb had been much smaller in size compared to Galbadia, they had the best-trained soldiers in the whole land. The takeover attempt failed and they had been at war since then. They'd lost so much and gained so little in the years that followed.

Finally, at Quistis' urging, Balamb initiated an attempt at a truce. A ceasefire order came from both nations while they discussed a treaty that would end the war once and for all. But even though both armies showed all appearances of retreating, some fierce battles were still raging at the border nations. They received intelligence that the group causing the troubles were Galbadian but the government itself denied any involvement and instead turned the blame on Balamb.

Another war seemed to be on the brink of breaking out again and Irvine decided to investigate about the rebel group and resolve the issue once and for all. Of course, any efforts to subdue the dissention had to be done quietly, in case Galbadia was telling the truth and they risked another war by violating the terms of the treaty. A squad from Balamb's elite special force, the SeeD, was deployed, led by Xu to examine the situation.

"I should have been there," she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "I was the one who should have led that squad. I asked Squall to let me go but he would not even listen."

"You know why he won't. it's too dangerous. You're too recognizable as my sister. They could capture you and use you to get to me," Irvine pointed out.

"The perils of being the King's sister. I have to be a princess first, and SeeD second," she said bitterly.

Irvine crossed his arms, looking uncharacteristically angry. "Do you think I like shelving one of my best SeeDs just because she happens to be related to me? This order to leave you behind is not because you lack the ability or skills to do the job right. It is about avoiding the risk of them using you as leverage to gain an upper hand in the war."

Quistis stared ahead blindly, silent. Deep down, she knew that Irvine had a point. She even knew that Squall did the right thing by sending the best person to replace her. But she couldn't help feeling that Xu's death could be avoided if Quistis had only been there to help.

"Sorry for yelling at you," Irvine muttered, mollified by her silence.

"Can I be left alone now?" she asked tiredly.

He stood up. "Of course. Just get some rest and I'll fill you in on the situation at the border tomorrow."

She nodded. She did want to know if they'd determined the origins of the rebel group. But not now. Now she just wanted to curl up in her bed, praying to Hyne for forgiveness for not being there when her best friend needed her the most.

The next day, Quistis was dressed in her formal SeeD uniform, pacing outside Squall's office and waiting for the SeeD Commander to start with his debriefing of the situation. It was already midmorning and he was still nowhere to be found—a rarity since Squall was always punctual.

So she almost wanted to throttle him when she finally saw him slowly making his way towards his office, deep in conversation with Irvine. She tapped her foot impatiently until both men finally noticed her and Squall made a gesture for her to follow them inside.

"We were arranging for Xu's funeral service. We need to wait for her parents to arrive but we're giving her a hero's send-off," Irvine explained when she demanded where they had been to. That shut her up, which only made him look at her in concern.

"How are you this morning? Feeling better?"

She stared at him incredulously. "No, definitely not better. But moping and whining won't bring her back so all I can do now is at least bring this matter to a close. What's the situation in Timber?"

Timber was on the Galbadia continent but it was the town that marked the territory between Galbadia and Balamb before the war. Now it was the center of all the fightings hindering the truce.

"Unfortunately, the squad dispatched there are still unable to uncover the mastermind of all the riots. It's absolute chaos down there, with both sides blaming the other," Squall said quietly, sitting down on one of the couches that formed a semicircle in one corner of the room.

Quistis leaned against his desk, feeling angry again that Xu's death had not even led to any insights on the situation. "You mean, Galbadia also sent someone to investigate?"

"Which seems to prove that they might be telling the truth," Irvine said. "Maybe the rebel group _didn't_ belong to them?"

"But we don't know for sure?" she asked, to which both men didn't answer. So she continued, "So what now? How do we proceed from here?"

"We leave the situation in Timber to resolve in due time. For now, we should focus on making sure the treaty is signed. We might finally have peace after that," Irvine told her.

Quistis stared first at her brother, then at Squall, who was resolutely avoiding her eyes. She didn't know whether to laugh or scream. It felt dangerously more likely that she will do neither and hit both of them instead.

"Putting aside the fact that you're making it sound like Xu died for some stupid, pointless mission," she began, and was satisfied to see Squall squirm uncomfortably, "do you really think Galbadia is going to happily sign the treaty while still suspicious that Balamb is secretly trying to attack via the rebel group in Timber?"

Irvine remained unperturbed by her tirade. "I've thought of a way to get them to agree."

"Do tell," she said sarcastically.

Irvine glanced at Squall and they seemed to be silently communicating something. Quistis crossed her arms, knowing with all her heart that they were going to give her even more bad news.

"We're forming an alliance with Esthar. With such a powerful ally on our side, Galbadia won't dare refuse."

"Esthar?" Quistis repeated, dumbfounded. "If Esthar had wanted to help, they'd have done so long before this."

It was no secret that Esthar had long taken a hands-off stance with regards to the Balamb-Galbadia war, for the most part due the economic interest it had in both countries. But aside from that, the President himself had stayed away due to personal conflicts of interest; in which he was Galbadian by birth and the fact that his only son is Commander of SeeD for Balamb.

"We won't be asking Esthar to pledge their loyalty to us," Irvine said, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "At least, not in the way you're thinking."

Quistis' blue eyes bored into her brother's grey ones. "What way do you mean then?"

"We'll align ourselves with Esthar through a political marriage."

Her heart stopped. The blood must have also drained from her brain because she suddenly couldn't understand what Irvine was saying.

"Political marriage?" she repeated, the words making no sense in her head. Who was Irvine going to marry that would ensure Esthar's cooperation? she thought, still refusing to accept the implication of his words. The President, Laguna Loire, had only one child and that child was sitting across the room from her, still as a statue.

"You're marrying Ellone?" she asked, almost hopefully. While not related to Laguna by blood, Ellone was his late wife's first child, thereby making her Squall's half sister.

"Quistis…" Irvine looked at Squall for help but the Commander might as well have been a rock from the way he hadn't moved an inch since the subject was introduced.

Quistis closed her eyes, dragged in a deep breath, and finally ask the question she dreaded, "You want me to marry Squall?"

His silence was confirmation enough. The blood that had pooled at her feet earlier now rushed back up, causing her heart to pound and her mind to race. Never in a million years could she see this coming.

Marriage…to Squall?

In another situation, she might have jumped with joy at the news. She had, after all, known him almost all her life and loved him just as long. When her parents were still alive, they had spent every summer together, gone to school together, and practically grew up in each other's back yards.

It had always been made known that her parents and Laguna were hoping that Quistis and Squall would eventually fall in love and marry each other. In fact, everything was all but set in stone until the day the lifeless bodies of her mother and father were brought back to the palace.

Quistis remembered being numb that day. People were talking, crying, hugging and comforting her but all she could feel was the surreal realization that she would never hear either of her parents' voices or feel their touch ever again. Irvine was wrapped in his own grief then and she turned to the only person she wanted and needed comfort from.

Squall became a pillar of strength for her in the days after and she took solace in his comforting embrace and quiet calm. Her fatal mistake was confusing his concern with love. And he, honourable to a fault, did not correct her misunderstanding. In fact, he might have even gone ahead and married her had her eyes not been opened to his real feelings only days after they were attacked by Galbadian troops.

That day, both of them were headed towards Balamb town, which was in danger of being completely captured by enemy troops. But before the port town had come into view, they were stopped by a handful of Galbadian soldiers, led by Seifer Almasy.

"Well, if it isn't the happy couple," he sneered when Quistis and Squall stepped out of the vehicle they were traveling in.

She glowered at him, not quite believing that he had been part of the attack against them. Despite the fact that he was the son of Galbadia's President, Seifer had grown up together with all of them, joining their summer visits when his mother was still alive. It had been many years since he'd come to Balamb, following his mother's illness and subsequent death but she still had fond memories of playing together.

"What is the meaning of this, Seifer? Why are you attacking Balamb?" she snapped. He'd come with only a handful of men and she had absolute confidence in her and Squall's ability to defeat them. But Seifer was another story. She had no idea how good of a swordsman he'd become in the years she hadn't seen him but he used to at least be on the same level as Squall.

"What, why, how—you always ask too many questions, _Princess_," he said mockingly. Quistis' jaw tightened but she kept her head. She knew he liked to push people's buttons and she was old enough not to fall for that.

"Rumour has it congratulations are in order," he was saying, pacing slowly from her to Squall, gunblade swung over one shoulder.

Rumour of their impending nuptials had been going around for years so it was hardly news if he'd heard it. For the moment, the rumour had no basis since Squall had not proposed yet but Quistis had every reason to believe that he would soon. In the meantime, she saw nothing wrong in letting Seifer believe what he wanted while she formulated a plan to escape.

"Well, sorry to ruin the party, folks, but there sure as hell isn't going to be a wedding soon. Not with us ruling over Balamb. Then you'd be nothing but a common peasant," the last was said to Quistis with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"All this bitterness just because you didn't get an invitation?" she asked sweetly, seizing the moment to cast a Firaga spell right into his midsection. He flew backwards and landed on his back a few feet away, gunblade flying in the other direction.

In an instant, they were attacked by his men but Quistis and Squall was prepared. Signaling Squall to take care of Seifer, Quistis took out her whip and made short work of the Galbadian soldiers. When she had the last of them facedown in the grass, she turned to see Squall and Seifer in a full-on gunblade duel, the latter making a 'come at me' gesture with a cocky smirk on his face.

It looked like Seifer was winning when he pushed Squall back to his knees with a Fira spell. Squall was struggling to get up and by the time he noticed how close Seifer was, it was too late. Seifer's gunblade swooped down and slashed Squall across his face, causing blood to splatter on the ground.

Quistis called out his name, launching herself to where they were fighting. But Squall was already retaliating, swinging his gunblade up and wounding Seifer—who was gloating and therefore unprepared—right in the face. Quistis used the moment to coil her whip around Seifer's feet and pulled him to the ground. Quick as lightning, Squall put the tip of his gunblade to Seifer's throat.

"Move and your body's going back to Galbadia headless," he said warningly. Both his and Seifer's face was covered in blood but neither seemed bothered. Thankfully, Quistis had Cure spells stocked up so she used one on Squall. It at least managed to close the wound and stopped the bleeding but he would need medical attention when they arrived in town. As for Seifer, he could bleed dry for all she care.

Instead of obeying, Seifer threw back his head and laughed. Quistis stood over him, hands resting on her hips. Clearly, Seifer had gone insane. But when he pinned her with his malice-filled green eyes, she saw that he was anything but. Stupid and reckless definitely but not insane.

"Look at you two, doing the whole tag team thingie. It's so adorable," he taunted. He looked at Squall pityingly. "Didn't think you were the hearts and flowers type, Leonhart, but I guess love changes people."

"Shut up," Squall snapped. "It's not like that."

Seifer laid down, seemingly unconcerned that the business end of a gunblade was merely an inch from his jugular. "I've always thought a spoiled, self-involved brat like you would be incapable of caring for another human being more than yourself so maybe I was wrong. Hey Quisty, how did you get him to admit to falling in love with you anyway?"

He had raised his head now, looking at Quistis in genuine curiosity. She scowled at his casual use of her childhood nickname.

"Why in Hyne's name would you care anyway?"

He grinned. "You're right, I don't. But I was just trying to distract you two."

Before either Squall or Quistis could react, a Galbadian soldier tackled them from behind. The three of them toppled to the ground as Seifer casually picked himself up and dusted himself. Quistis pushed the soldier away and summoned her guardian force, Ifrit, ready to counterattack. But Seifer had raised his hands in a gesture of surrender even as Squall lifted his gunblade to attack.

"Whoa, there," he said, taking a step back. "I'll concede defeat this time."

"You're delusional if you think we're just going to let you escape," Quistis said in a hard voice.

Seifer chuckled and shook his head at her. In the distance, she heard the roar of an airship and was astonished to see one appearing out of the cliffs, its body streaked with Galbadian colours.

"Well, it's been…enlightening chatting with you two," Seifer said, raising a hand. A rope ladder rolled out from the airship and he caught it with ease as the 'ship pulled away, taking him with it.

Quistis watched, mouth open, while Squall went to tie down the Galbadian soldiers—something she would have done if she hadn't rushed in to save him.

"I can't believe that he hasn't changed at all," she muttered, watching Squall work. He didn't say anything so she continued talking, "I mean, the way he just went on and on about us as if the idea of us being together is so hard to believe… Right?"

Somehow, there was an edge of uncertainty to her voice when she asked that. It was stupid, but when Seifer had asked how she convinced Squall to tell her he loved her, her chest had constricted painfully. Because she had just realized that he never said anything about loving her.

But she could tell that he did from his actions. He'd been there when she needed him most, lent a shoulder for her to cry on and an ear to listen to her troubles. He'd put his arms around her when she felt like she would break from the grief of losing her parents. He'd never kissed her, but she'd always thought it was because he was saving it for their wedding day.

"Squall?"

What kind of sappy idiot saves a _kiss_ for the wedding anyway?

He was silent—neither admitting or denying anything. Quistis could almost hear her heart breaking into a million pieces. When it was clear that she wasn't going to move until he said something, he met her eyes. Immediately, he looked away when he saw the look on her face.

"I'm…sorry, Quistis, but I couldn't say anything to hurt you. You'd just lost so much and I couldn't add to that pain."

Quistis sank to the ground, hands covering her face. "Oh, Hyne, I was so stupid…"

No other words were exchanged between them that day. In fact, she didn't talk to him for weeks after that. It had hurt to even look at him, knowing that he was feeling bad for having deceived her, and guilt for having hurt her. The worst part was the fact that she had made a fool of herself over him, and now he was feeling sorry for her.

So the idea of her marrying Squall now in order to secure Esthar's loyalty was like a stab to an already old, festering wound.

"And you're agreeing?" she was asking Squall, her voice faint.

"It seemed to be the best course of action," he said, his own voice steady and firm in contrast.

How laughable that he would agree to marry her for any and all reasons but the one that mattered most.

"This has already been in the plan anyway, right?" Irvine rushed in. "It's what Mother and Father and Laguna wanted."

"So the fact that it isn't what I wanted doesn't matter?" she asked sharply.

To his credit, Irvine looked shamefaced. He didn't know the exact reason why but he'd noticed Squall and Quistis' estrangement just when he thought there would be wedding bells in the works. Both of them refused to talk about it but he knew how much Quistis was hurting. Anyway, lovers quarrel all the time and he was positive that they would be able to work past their issues once they're married. They were destined to be together after all.

"You'll come around to the idea," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Quistis shoved the offending limb away. She had daggers in her eyes when she looked at him and said, "If I hear any more of this again, I swear I'll run to Galbadia and give myself up. I'd rather spend my life incarcerated than be trapped in a loveless marriage."

With that, she stalked out of the office.

A/N: My first fic! I'm torn between Quall and Seiftis but this is a Seiftis fic, simply because I've never tried written one and am eager to explore their potential. By the way, I know Ellone's relationship with Squall was not really clear in the game because on the one hand, he called her 'Sis', but on the other, Raine said Ellone was her sister. I think Raine was just trying to hide the fact that she had Ellone out of wedlock. So I will go with the Ellone is Squall's half-sister theory.


	2. Reminiscence

**Chapter Two: Reminiscence**

As Squall had said, Timber was in chaos. The moment Quistis hopped off the supply train she had stowed into, she could see trash, discarded flyers, and bullet shells littering the ground. She could hear crowds shouting and the occasional explosions. And the sight that greeted her once she finally entered the town was bleak.

There were buildings that looked like it had been abandoned by its occupants, with doors hanging loose and windows broken. The street was deserted save for a few animals rummaging through trash. But the worst part was the smell. The rank stench of gunpowder, human waste and rotting flesh permeated the air, making her grimace.

Careful to stay out of sight, she slipped between buildings and alleys to find the part of town that people still inhabit. Timber couldn't possibly be entirely deserted. There must be pockets of habitation for rebels and refugees to take shelter in.

It had been amazingly easy to escape Balamb palace once Quistis steeled her resolve. Dyeing her hair to a mousy brown and using brown contact lenses had significantly changed her appearance. Stealing a palace maid's uniform had also been startlingly easy and she managed to escape the palace grounds in her disguise.

After that, it was only a matter of using money—sometimes huge amounts of it—to bribe people to get her to her destination. To avoid detection, she'd even adopted the persona of a dull, albeit stinking rich girl escaping the war. In almost no time at all, she had arrived in Timber.

Sure, she was traveling incognito without the benefits of her SeeD badge but it was actually better for her this way, since she would be able to move around without attracting too much attention to herself. She knew Irvine was going to be livid once he discovered that she was missing but she could not have cared less.

He of all people should understand why she could never marry Squall. It had only been a little more than a year since she found out that Squall didn't love her and it was a depressing and agonizing knowledge to live with. How could she face that kind of torture forever, being married to the very source of her unhappiness?

She understood that Irvine was under a tremendous amount of pressure. His reign as King so far had only been marked by war and suffering. It would be devastating to anyone, but more so to Irvine who is carefree and happy by nature. She knew that it was her and Squall's support that had sustained him in these difficult times.

The suggestion of a political marriage had actually sounded like a good way to resolve the war without further violence, she admitted grudgingly. But not at the expense of her emotional comfort.

Maybe she was being selfish. Her marriage to Squall could potentially spell permanent peace and here she was, digging her heels in because he did not love her as much as she did. As a Princess and also a SeeD, wasn't it her duty to make sacrifices for the good of the people? Especially in this case, where she could save millions of people from the misery they're experiencing now.

She would, in all probability, accept the marriage eventually. When she calmed down a little. When she finished what she set out to do in Timber.

Quistis sent a quick prayer to Hyne, asking for forgiveness for prolonging her people's pain with her selfishness. Just a few more days, she told herself. Besides, there was a ceasefire already established and she was here at the worst of the battle.

So she trudged on, keeping an eye out for any signs of human life. Finally, she came across a building that had people coming and going from it. She took her time observing, trying to determine if it was a refugee centre or the meeting place of the rebels. There were guards posted at the entrance and they seemed to be carrying some heavy duty weaponries. They wore no uniforms but a red sash tied to their left forearms convinced Quistis that this was the rebel group she was looking for.

That was easy enough.

But she wasn't so stupid as to storm the place or even go nearer. The group had been dangerous enough that Xu had lost her life on this mission. So the best thing she should do right now is to find a safe place to hide in, possibly locate the refugees, and hopefully obtain more information about the rebels.

She spent the hours until sundown looking for the perfect spot to spend the night and finally found it. It was an abandoned house located at the highest floor of a five-storey apartment building. The building itself was deserted but she liked that she had a perfect view of the rebels' base of operations while being obscured from their discovery by the decrepit appearance of the building. After a small meal of bread and cheese, she settled down to sleep on the bed in the Master Bedroom, letting deep sleep consume her since she needed to be well rested for the coming day.

The next morning, she continued her search of survivors and refugees. It took half a day of cautious trekking across town for her to at last find a telltale sign of people other than her and the rebel group—a still burning cigarette on the ground, right before the entrance of an old mine. She frowned, figuring that it was kind of an obvious place to take refuge in. Shrugging, she put the hood of her jacket up over her hair and peered into the dark caverns, only to be greeted by eerie silence.

If there were indeed people living there, shouldn't there be some signs of life—sounds of people talking or smells of fire burning? Maybe they had been alerted of her presence and thought she was one of the rebels? If so, she should be prepared for a cold reception.

Almost as soon as the thought finished, a pair of arms appeared out of the darkness and pulled her forward. Caught completely by surprise, she offered no resistance when whoever it was shoved her face first against the wall and deftly twisted her arms back. She swallowed an indignant cry as the muscles in her arms screamed in protest.

"Can't believe you fell for that trap so easily," an uncannily familiar voice whispered in her ear.

Holy Hyne, of all people…

"That was careless of you, wandering away from your little murdering group and getting captured by the big, bad wolf," he was saying.

It occurred to Quistis that he thought she was with the rebels. Which meant he did not know or had not recognized her. Yet.

"I'm not a rebel," she said, her voice somewhat strangled due to the awkward position her body was in.

There was silence, and then the small flicker of a lighter being lit illuminated the cave for a brief second. The second click brought the flame to life and he was silent for a while as he no doubt looked for the identifying red scarf on her forearm. Finding none, he cursed and roughly let her go.

Quistis was careful to keep her face out of the light. Seeing Seifer in the last place she expected had thrown her somewhat. The last time they'd seen each other was that day on the road to Balamb town. In the weak light, she could see the angry gash across the bridge of his nose—a mirror of Squall's own scar that marked their fight that day.

"A refugee, huh?" he muttered, flicking off the lighter. "What the hell are you doing, walking around alone in broad daylight?"

She bit her lower lip, debating on whether or not she should reveal who she was. He could have a whole army hiding inside the cave and her discovery could lead to the thing Irvine was afraid of the most: her capture. Maybe, if she convinced him to leave her right there where he still couldn't see her, she would be able to escape without him being none the wiser. It seemed the best course of action she could take under the circumstances.

"What's wrong? Scared of me? There's no need to be. That whole menacing talk just now was for the benefit of those rebel scums," he went on when she remained silent. "Anyway, you should go back to camp. I smell another raid coming sometime soon."

It was strange to think that this was perhaps the first time she'd heard Seifer talking in almost civil tones. He'd been cocky and abrasive as a kid and any encounter she had with him after puberty was restricted to barbed exchanges and veiled threats.

"I'll go back now," she said in a low, shy-sounding voice. This was the perfect opportunity to evade him. She could just walk out with her back to him and disappear before he noticed anything wrong. Her head was still covered by her hood—even if it wasn't, her hair was a different colour. Hurriedly, she walked past him into the sunlight.

"Hey, that's not the way back to camp!" he called out.

She cursed under her breath and broke into a sprint. Behind her, she could hear Seifer calling for her but she kept going, ducking into the nearest building she could find. With any luck, he would lose interest and went on with whatever it was he was doing. In fact, he must have hit his quota of concern for a random stranger for the week and gone back to being a loudmouthed jerk.

"Hey, little girl, you're going to be captured if you keep going this way."

Quistis reacted instinctively. Her whip was neatly coiled around her waist and she took it out and swung towards Seifer. She turned for a split second and saw him avoid the end of Save the Queen from striking his face by a hair's breadth. Their eyes met and she saw the shock and disbelief in his as she prepared to run again.

But his power of recovery was faster than she'd anticipated and she found herself being tackled and making a dive for the floor. With her carefully honed reflexes, she planted both arms on the ground to brace herself and did a perfect somersault into a standing position. She cracked her whip in the air and turned to face Seifer with a lift to her chin.

He was staring at her as if he could not quite believe his eyes. "What the hell did you do to your hair?" he snapped angrily.

"What the hell did you do to your face?" she countered, which earned an angry scowl from him.

"What are you doing here, Quistis?" he asked, moving slowly to his right. Quistis also took a step to her right and they regarded each other warily as the circled each other.

"Investigating," she said defiantly.

"By yourself?"

"No. I have backup. In fact, I'm sure they're on their way here right now," she lied.

He snorted derisively. "Yeah. I'm sure they are. What are you really doing here?"

"Finding evidence that the rebellion and chaos happening in Timber are orchestrated by Galbadia."

"I'll bet," he said skeptically. "So you're here to deliver new orders to those rebel scums, huh? I'm surprised that airheaded brother of yours let you come to such a dangerous place alone. Or is Commander Loverboy also somewhere in this town with you?"

Quistis scowled at the mention of Squall, which only fuelled Seifer's taunting. "Oh, trouble in paradise already? I guess happily ever after is not what's in store for _your_ fairy tale, huh?"

"Your attempts to stir up trouble in Timber in the hopes of Balamb capitulating to your ridiculous demands is futile, Seifer," she said. "We are not handing over any territory, much less Timber to you."

Seifer laughed. "Oh, that's rich. As if you don't know that you're the ones who planted the rebels here to make Galbadia agree to _your_ stupid demands. Timber is on Galbadian soil and Balamb claiming it as theirs is absolutely ludicrous."

They regarded each other suspiciously, both believing that the other is guilty for the atrocities happening in Timber right now.

"If Galbadia is as innocent as you claim, then what are you doing here?" Quistis asked.

Before Seifer could answer, the wall exploded, sending both of them flying to the other side of the room. Quistis groaned in pain as her head hit a table and a sharp piece of wood buried itself into her left shoulder. When the stars had disappeared from her eyes, she found her world strangely silent. Well, maybe not silent but muted as indistinct sounds of people shouting and shots being fired could faintly be made out.

With much effort, she managed to pull the piece of wood out, at the same time cursing the fact that the blast had possibly impaired her hearing. She started to cast Cura but was quickly stopped by Seifer, who had landed not far away. He was saying something but she could barely make out the words. So she just stared at him uncomprehendingly.

He put a finger to his lips and gestured for her to take cover under the now overturned table. When she didn't move, he forcefully shoved her behind him, sending fresh waves of pain shooting up and down her bleeding arm. Seifer, the heartless bastard, only glanced irritably at her and again motioned for her to be quiet.

Three rebels walked inside, kicking away debris from their path. They looked this way and that, not seeing the two figures behind the table. One of them barked some kind of order and turned to walk out, followed by the other two. As Quistis' hearing gradually returned, she heard the thundering of footsteps and rumbling of vehicles outside.

The raid Seifer mentioned earlier.

"Hey, you should call off your lapdogs," Seifer said to her.

She glared at him in reply, her mouth too full of dust and her mind too full of pain to formulate a coherent enough reply. It was just her luck that she had been closer to the wall and therefore took the brunt of the explosion while Seifer only seemed to suffer from minor cuts and bruises. Quistis tried to cast Cura again and was stopped by him again.

"Are you trying to lead them right to us? The light from casting a spell is sure to catch their attention and I sure as hell aren't going to take them all on by myself, you being useless and all."

Quistis gritted her teeth in annoyance. It irked her that he was right. At the moment, she would probably be more of a hindrance than a help if they got into battle with the rebels. But she still hated the way Seifer always phrased his words to be as offensive as possible. Where had the almost normal guy she met in the dark mine gone to?

While they waited for the rebels to leave the area, Quistis tried to rip out a strip of her shirt to press on her wounds but it was a near impossible task with only one hand. To her surprise, Seifer took off a hefty chunk from his own shirt and used the wad of cloth to staunch her bleeding.

"Really, you SeeDs are so dependent on your spells and GFs that a little wound like this is enough to make you lose your cool," he muttered.

Quistis ignored him and took a drink from her water pack. The sensation of cool water washing off the dust in her mouth and throat was so good that she almost sighed in pleasure. When she opened her eyes, Seifer was watching her, a frown on his face.

"Why are you really here, Quistis? And don't give me crap about finding proof of our guilt or whatever. If you're on an official mission, you wouldn't have been by yourself."

"I could say the same to you. Where're your loyal bodyguards?" she sneered. "Oh, I forgot. You have a tendency to leave them behind when the going gets tough."

He didn't like that she remembered he escaped only by himself the last time they fought. His men were captured, but eventually released in a prisoner exchange.

"I'm here to kill the rebel group leader," he said after a long silence.

"All by yourself? Don't tell me you're here on a covert mission to kill a man in his sleep? I thought you would prefer the go for the glory approach. You know, huge army and flashy guns."

He didn't answer, which surprised Quistis. She just gave him the perfect opportunity to mock her and he didn't even sniff at the bait. He either had more self control than she credited him for or she'd hit some kind of nerve.

They sat in silence as they waited for the noise outside to recede. She didn't think it was possible but the atmosphere was actually companionable. Even as children, she couldn't remember being so relaxed when they were alone together. There was always something they would fight about and the end result was either one of them or both would get hurt.

"I didn't think it was possible but you've actually grown up," she said quietly, and was surprised that she voiced her thought out loud.

He glared at her. "You're seriously not trying to pick a fight right now?"

"Sorry," she chuckled, "but I can still remember you being the ringleader of all bad ideas that eventually get us into trouble. Like that time you convinced us to sneak into a supply vehicle to get to town."

"Yeah, and that wimp Squall just had to fall off and break his arm, ruining what could have been a fun day out." He was sitting on his hunches, peering beyond their hiding place but Quistis caught the smile on his face. There wasn't even a hint of a sneer.

"Your mom was so mad that she made you fetch and carry for Squall for a week after that." She laughed this time, and quickly covered her mouth. But things were so noisy outside that they could've screamed bloody murder and no one would notice.

At the mention of his mother, Seifer's face changed. She could practically see the shutters going down in his eyes and the tight line forming around his mouth. Even years after it happened, he still wore that same expression he had the day of his mother's funeral.

Quistis had been there with her family on the day of the service. She remembered trying to put an arm around his shoulders to comfort him but he shoved her away and ran off. They were eleven years old.

"My best friend died on a mission here," she told him, leaning back against the wall. She didn't know why she was telling him this. Maybe because she could still see the hurt and angry look in his eyes that day and knew what it felt like to lose something and not understand how or why it had to happen.

"The rebels discovered that they were SeeDs and ambushed their camp. Xu didn't even have a chance to get her weapon and defend herself."

"So you're here to destroy them as vengeance?"

"I don't know." It seemed so clear before. All she wanted was to finish the mission Xu failed to and get her revenge at the same time. But deep down, maybe she was also hoping that she could put an end to the rebellion and get the treaty signed so she wouldn't have to marry Squall.

If things were that simple, we'd already be at peace, she reminded herself. Both countries were dragging their feet and only using the rebellion as an excuse. She knew Irvine badly wanted the truce but his advisors and many of the government officials disagreed. To them, Galbadia was the one that drew the first blood and Balamb's attempts to push for a truce are seen as cowardly. If things went on like this, an alliance with Esthar could possibly be the only answer.

"I might have to marry Squall when I go back," she said. She must have hit her head really hard to be revealing so many personal things to Seifer, the man who takes pleasure in taking advantage of people's vulnerabilities.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "And why is that news?"

She shrugged. "I'm not exactly looking forward to spending the rest of my life with a man who doesn't love me, and who'll probably be nice to me all my life simply because he feels bad he can't love me the way I love him."

"Finally figured that out, huh?" he snorted.

"What do you mean?" She sat up, alert.

He studied her, as if debating whether he should go on. Then, turning his attention outside again, he said, "It's always been obvious to me that you two would never be a good match. You're emotionally needy when it comes to him and he'll never be able to live up to that. You'll be insecure and make yourself miserable trying to please him and he'll be distant because he's uncomfortable that the kind of affection and attention you're offering will come with strings attached."

Quistis stared at him, stunned. So even Seifer knew what she herself was too blind to notice.

"Even so," he glanced at her, "I never thought you'd refuse to go through with the wedding. Even if he doesn't love you now, there's no telling what might happen in the future, right?"

"Hell must be freezing over when even you're offering sound love advice," she muttered.

"That's just common sense. You're the one who is clueless when it comes to love."

"You've been in love before?" she asked in disbelief.

He looked at her mockingly and refused to answer. Of course he had. Discounting his deranged personality, Seifer was good looking in a wild, rock-and-roll kind of way. Any girl with preference for the bad boy type would trip all over themselves to get his attention. Add to the fact that his father was one of the most powerful men in the world, she could definitely see women considering him desirable.

"If I marry Squall, we'll definitely have Esthar's support. Then you'll _have_ to sign that treaty," she pointed out.

"That's what _you _think," he scoffed at her. "Do you really think Laguna's got that much influence over his own government? The President of Esthar is just a figurehead. Every decision that comes from the Presidential office must go through a string of advisors, most of whom are wise enough to stay out of the war."

It was vexing but Quistis already knew deep down of the truth of what Seifer was saying. The likelihood of having Esthar as an ally by marrying their President's son is slim at most. But what other methods were there that could ensure the quickest and most painless way to end the war?

"I've always wondered," she said carefully, "why Galbadia attacked Balamb."

"Why _won't_ Galbadia attack Balamb? You have the best-trained military force, which is a threat to us, and you have natural resources in abundance. Of course, if you ask my father or his press advisors, they'll say it's because you're an autocratic monarchy when you should be embracing the more democratic people's choice government."

"Well." Quistis pursed her lips. "That was very honest of you."

"I have no illusions of the lack of scruples my government has."

"And yet you still happily went along with everything."

He smiled, suddenly and viciously. "I quite enjoy the idea of trampling all over your too-good-for-everyone-else faces."

"You're disgusting," she snapped.

They didn't talk again until hours later when there was complete silence outside. After confirming that the rebels were all gone, Quistis casted Cura on herself, sighing at the instant relief she felt. The wound was going to leave a scar but that was the least of her worry right now. It was dark, and she was still nowhere closer to finding the refugee camp or even forming a fully coherent plan for her next action. Now that she had confirmation that Galbadia was not involved with the chaos in Timber, shouldn't she head back home?

Seifer stood up, and without even a backward glance at her, walked out.

"Seifer, wait!" she called out, going after him. "You know where the refugee camp is, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Can you take me there?"

He whirled on her and she was so taken aback by it that she almost careened headlong into him. He was scowling at her as he said, "Look, just because we were reminiscing about the old days doesn't suddenly make us friends. In case you've forgotten, we're on opposite sides of a war that threatens to drag on for years to come. As far as I'm concerned, we're still bitter enemies."

"It doesn't have to be like that," she said slowly, aware of the complete disintegration of the almost-friendly atmosphere they had earlier.

"It does, and it will always remain so until both our countries somehow find a way to get along."

Just as he finished speaking those words, Quistis had a lightbulb moment of the most ridiculous, crazy, but brilliant idea for repairing the relationship between Balamb and Galbadia. She stared at him, her mind racing as she considered the implications and consequences of what she was about to do. As she did, Seifer was looking at her suspiciously.

"What?" he demanded.

Quistis took a deep breath.

A/N: Trying to force myself to follow some kind of weekly story update schedule. Hope it's working out. Anyways, would love to hear your thoughts and comments so far!


	3. Last Resort

**Chapter Three: Last Resort**

"Here, have a cup of our signature coffee."

Quistis looked up to see a woman in her forties holding out a steaming mug. She smiled gratefully and accepted the drink. What the woman called 'signature coffee' was just black coffee mixed with a generous amount of hard liquor. While Timber was close enough to the Equator so that the weather was never freezing, she was still thankful of the liquor to help her forget what she almost said to Seifer earlier.

_I can't believe I almost asked Seifer to marry me._

At the last minute, she'd swallowed the words because there was no way for the situation to end well if she hadn't. The most she could hope was for Seifer to laugh, call her crazy, and torment her forever about her moment of insanity.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. They'd have a better chance at peace if she married Seifer and she could keep her emotional distance as a bonus. The appearance of being star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of a war would make excellent press fodder. More importantly, their union would provide a common ground for the public of both countries to rally their support. With that kind of pressure, both governments would look bad if they continue their pointless stalemate.

On the other hand, hoping for Galbadia and Balamb to sway to public opinion—no matter how popular—sounded just a tad too optimistic to Quistis. Besides, this was _Seifer_ she was thinking about. They had to be truly convincing in their roles as two people completely in love with each other and she doubted either of them were capable of that. Hyne, they even had trouble _liking_ each other.

So instead of that, Quistis threatened to follow him around and get in the way of his mission until he showed her where the refugee camp was—which he eventually did just to get her out of his hair. To her surprise, the camp was just beyond Timber's town lines where the thick woods began. To ensure the refugees' safety, a group of men and a few soldiers from _both_ Galbadia and Balamb took turns to patrol the perimeter.

The two hundred or so people seemed accustomed to Seifer's presence and they welcomed Quistis warmly into their folds, not recognizing who she really was. She only explained that she had gotten separated from her family when trying to board a train back to Esthar.

"I got separated from my family, too," one girl told her. She was around Quistis' age and had bright green eyes that even the apparently bleak situation she was in could not diminish.

"My name is Selphie, by that way, and you're welcomed to share my tent tonight," she offered. Her accent was faintly melodious and hard to place but Quistis would guess that she was Trabian.

"Thank you," Quistis said with a smile, immediately liking her. "Um, my name is Ellie."

Squall's sister's name was the only one she could think of on the spot. Besides, she was supposed to be from Esthar anyway. Too late did she realize that Ellone was actually Galbadian. Selphie didn't seem to think anything was amiss though, so Quistis relaxed.

"It's hard to believe that Timber is now completely overrun," she murmured, hoping to hear a full account of what happened from Selphie.

"I know, right!" the other girl agreed enthusiastically. "And you thought having the battle going on so close to town was bad! But just as soon as we had that ceasefire, those rebels appear and run everyone out of town. I would have gone with my family back to Trabia but I got held back because I was looking for some missing friends. Now I'm stuck here until someone does something about those terror-makers!"

"Does anyone know who they are or where they come from?"

Selphie looked around, presumably to make sure that the coast was clear for whatever it was she was going to reveal. "Well, I heard that the leader is trying to take advantage of the current stalemate to stake a claim on Timber. And with both Balamb and Galbadia ignoring whatever's happening down here in favour of their all-important truce negotiations, I think the rebels are succeeding. If this continues, this town is going to be nothing but a slum for those degenerates."

Quistis bit her lower lip guiltily at the glum look on Selphie's face. For people in Timber, it must look like they're being ignored when in actuality the situation here was one of the main causes of the delay in negotiations. However, she had no idea that things had deteriorated to this extent.

"So, have you seen the leader of the rebels?" Quistis prodded, hoping for more information. At the back of her mind, she was already formulating a plan for her next action.

Selphie shook her head in denial. "No one has. Rumour has it he's this super charismatic guy with the ability to move people with just the power of his speech. It's how he's able to gather so much support in such a short amount of time."

"Hmm," Quistis murmured absently, processing the new information. So the man Seifer was after was that kind of person. Was Galbadia really that intimidated by the rebel leader that they actually sent someone to assassinate him? Besides, why send Seifer? She had trouble believing someone as volatile as him being chosen for a mission that required a cool head and a knack for strategy.

But that was only her own prejudice, based on her knowledge of him as a child. Hyne only knew how much she'd already noticed the changes in him now.

"Has anyone ever told you how much you look like Princess Quistis?" Selphie asked, interrupting Quistis' thoughts.

"I get that a lot," she said, nervously running a hand through her hair so that they fall to hide her face. She'd gotten distracted and forgotten to keep her head down. Thankfully, the sun had already set and the weak light from the kerosene lamps afforded little illumination. But Selphie, despite her appearances, was surprisingly astute to still notice.

"Uh, anyway, I was wondering if there's somewhere I can wash up?" Quistis changed the subject. Belatedly, she began to realize just how dirty she was. Dried blood, dirt, and dust covered her from head to toe and she was embarrassed by how smelly she was.

"Of course! Let's go together!" Selphie jumped up and nearly sent Quistis' cup of coffee flying.

They both went to gather the things they need and Selphie brought Quistis to a small spring not too far from camp. While they went about having themselves cleaned up, Selphie sang softly, which somehow made Quistis homesick. Music was a privilege that was taken away since the war started. It was such a simple pleasure and she didn't realize how much she missed it until it was taken away.

That night, Quistis couldn't sleep. When she finally did, she dreamt about dancing with Squall on neatly arranged square stone slabs. After a while, she realized that they were memorial plaques of people who died in the war. She stopped dancing and knelt down on one of them. 'Raine Leonhart' was engraved on it.

"_We should build something on it,"_ she said, looking up at Squall. His eyes were cold.

"_Like a house made of glass?"_ he asked. _"Then we can both live in it."_

"_But then, everyone will watch us all the time,"_ she protested.

"_There's nothing to watch, anyway,"_ Seifer said, appearing behind Squall.

Selphie was singing again, hopping from one plaque to the next and stooping down on each one to leave a flower. "_So one day he found her crying/ Coiled up on the dirty ground/ Her prince finally came to save her/ And the rest you can figure out."_

"_You're living in a fairy tale, Quistis,"_ Seifer told her. _"Time to wake up."_

"_But it was a trick/ And the clock struck twelve/ Well make sure to build your house brick by boring brick/ Or the wolf's gonna blow it down."_

Quistis woke up with Seplhie's song still ringing in her ears. She glanced beside her and the owner of the voice was still sleeping soundly. Carefully grabbing her things, Quistis crawled out of the tent to breathe in the fresh early morning air.

It was still dark and she only had a few hours' sleep but she felt refreshed and clear-headed. It could be because of the dream she just had but for the first time in a while, she knew for sure what she wanted to do.

The trek back to town was short and uneventful. She only ran into one patrolling guard who nodded absently at her. When she arrived in town, she immediately made her way to the rebels' base.

"Hey you!" one of the rebels guarding the entrance called out when Quistis walked right up to them. He hesitated at first but then his jaw dropped in surprise as he recognized her.

Quistis had used up the time until daybreak to dye her hair back to blonde. She had also gotten rid of her brown contact lenses and put on her usual corrective glasses. As she stepped fully into the sunlight, there was no doubt about her identity.

"Take me to your leader," she said imperiously.

.

.

The room they put Quistis in was unexpectedly feminine. The wallpaper was an expensive print from a famous Galbadian designer, the carpet was handmade and imported from Shumi Village, the furnitures were pastel-coloured, and there were white drapes fluttering down from wooden beams in the ceiling. Not what she would expect from a power-hungry rebel.

As she sat there waiting for the leader to show up, one of the rebels stood watch at the entrance with an uneasy look on his face. But before she could say anything to him, she heard footsteps approaching. A moment later, the door burst open and a girl burst inside.

"So it's true! You're really here!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together happily. She had black hair with a few blonde streaks, creamy skin, and sparkling brown eyes.

"You're…the rebel leader?" Quistis asked in disbelief.

As if the shock of that wasn't enough, the door opened again and Seifer walked in with a thunderous expression on his face. He barely spared a glance in Quistis' direction as he headed straight for the other girl.

"Rinoa, we are not done with our conversation!" he snapped.

"I know but Princess Quistis is here, Seifer. I've been wanting to meet her _forever_!" She sat down beside Quistis, an excited smile on her face. "My name is Rinoa Heartilly. It's so nice to finally meet you, Your Highness."

"Just call her Quistis," Seifer said, crossing his arms and glowering at them both. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you would be halfway on your way to Commander Moody by now."

What was she supposed to say? After last night, she'd decided that she needed to do something to get rid of the rebels in Timber so that the townspeople could go back to their homes. After all, Timber was Balamb territory and she felt responsible for all the people—people like Selphie and the woman who offered her coffee without expecting anything in return—there.

By this time, Irvine must have already figured out where she was and the probability that he'd sent some people to Timber for her was very high. Quistis thought she could meet with the rebel leader first and negotiate for Timber's release. In the worst case scenario, she could just threaten the leader that Balamb's soldiers were already on their way if they still refused to leave. She had also been prepared to fight her way out by junctioning her best GF—Shiva and Quezacotl—in case things went awry.

But now that she'd been completely blindsided by the fact that the rebel leader a young girl Quistis' age—and she also seemed to know Seifer quite well—all her carefully-laid plan disappeared.

"How did you two—?" she waved her fingers between Rinoa and Seifer, almost stuttering in confusion.

Rinoa flipped her hair. "Oh, we're old friends. We used to date."

"Don't tell her anything unnecessary," Seifer warned her. "Anyway, she still hasn't answered my question."

Ignoring him, Rinoa kept talking to Quistis. "He's such a meanie, right? I mean, even when we were together, he had no delicacy in his speech at all. You'd think a guy who appreciates his girlfriend would want to be nice to her but no, all he did was lecture me on how spoiled and selfish I am. Even now, after not seeing each other for so long, he still comes to say mean things again."

"Mean things? Rinoa, are you aware of the kind of damage you've caused with your stupid rebellion?" Seifer asked angrily.

"Damage? I'm doing this for the good of everyone involved!" she exclaimed indignantly.

"You're doing this because you're a spoiled little girl who just wants daddy's attention!" he yelled. "Have you taken a look outside lately? The whole town is abandoned because you and your little group of terrorists harassed them daily!"

"That's not our fault. They went away because of the war. We were the ones keeping everyone safe from the soldiers. Instead of my father who just wants the war to go on for his own political gains, we are the ones that really care about the people here!"

Quistis stood up and took a step back, looking at Rinoa incredulously. "Are you being serious?"

"What? What do you mean?" Rinoa asked, bewildered.

"My best friend died here a week ago. Your rebel group was the one that did it and it wasn't even in a fair fight. She was killed in her sleep!" Quistis' voice almost reached a hysterical note at the last sentence so she put both hands to her mouth to stop the sob from coming out.

For the first time, Rinoa looked uncertain. Her face had gone pale as she glanced at the other guy in the room—her underling presumably.

"It's not true, right, Kiri?" she asked in a trembling voice.

The guy called Kiri avoided her eyes. "Well, they were SeeDs…"

"Oh. Oh, Hyne…" Horrified, Rinoa clutched her chest.

"But the Forest Owls has always been about the fight for freedom. We're not violent," she said in a pleading voice. "How could you let this kind of thing go?"

"It's the new guys. They get a little too…dedicated to the cause sometimes. Anyway, SeeDs are part of the military that we hate so much. They're the very thing we're fighting against. Plus, they came to Timber to get rid of us so we had to take action before they do," Kiri finished, his chin lifted defensively.

"Oh no, what have I done? Quistis, I'm sorry. I didn't know what's really going on! I really thought we were protecting Timber!" Rinoa tried to reach for Quistis' hand but the other girl backed away, fury and disgust in her eyes.

It didn't matter that Rinoa had no idea of what her group was doing. In fact, her ignorance actually made it worse. She was furious that a group that Rinoa formed on a whim, based on some unrealistic ideals had been the cause of Xu's death.

"Stop making excuses, Rinoa. You need to grow up and take responsibility for your own actions. You think you're making a difference this way but you're just being used by these people." Seifer went to stand in front of her. "I know they've kept you in the dark about what they were really up to but you should have used your brains and at least question things. Instead, you let yourself be blinded by your own juvenile delusions of freedom fighting."

Rinoa was crying now but Seifer was relentless. "You turn your head the other way because you were more concerned with protecting your silly ideals than finding out the real situation. That's almost as bad as actually instigating all this. Stop crying!"

Quistis flinched. Seifer was being harsh but she couldn't bring herself to stop him. Whenever she thought of how Xu had died, a fresh wave of anger threatened to take over her and she wanted to hurt someone as an act of revenge. That anger was directed at the rebel group leader before she met Rinoa. But now that she knew the truth, she didn't know who she should blame anymore. She felt…impotent and unfulfilled.

"I'm sorry. I'll disband the group. We'll turn ourselves in and take whatever punishment that we deserve," Rinoa said, head down.

"Like hell we're going to do that," Kiri said angrily. "We didn't come this far just to be thwarted by the likes of you guys."

"Oh? You're resisting? Not that I'm complaining. Sure makes things a hell of a lot more interesting." Seifer took out his gunblade and fell into a battle stance. Quistis also took out her whip and braced for a fight.

Rinoa stood up. "Stop it, Kiri! We've done enough! Let's just surrender before it's too late."

"It already is too late. Besides, you're not really our leader. We only need you around because you're Caraway's daughter and he wouldn't dare do anything to us as long as you're with us."

"If that's how it is, then I'll disband the Forest Owls with force," Rinoa shot back. She took out a whistle and blew on it. It must have been an animal whistle because Quistis couldn't hear any sound coming out. A moment later, a dog came tearing into the room, carrying some sort of crossbow in its mouth.

Rinoa took the weapon from the dog and petted its head affectionately. "Good girl, Angelo."

Kiri had called for backup as well when the rebels began pouring into the room. Quistis didn't hesitate in sending one flying into the wall with a kick to the face and calling on Quezacotl to electrocute three at once. On her right, Seifer took down two rebels with one swipe of his gunblade while Rinoa was flinging magic spells from her crossbow.

However, no matter how many of the rebels they brought down, more just kept coming. Quistis was beginning to tire and her movements started to slow. One rebel managed to nick her with the tip of a very sharp katana sword. To her surprise, Rinoa healed her with Curaga. She had quite the knack for healing spells apparently. The effect was a lot more potent than if Quistis had casted it herself.

"We're going to get tired first before we can get rid of all of them," Quistis grunted.

Seifer flashed her a fierce grin. "Don't be a quitter, Princess."

She glared at him in response. "I'm being sensible, Almasy, and _you're_ starting to miss."

Right on cue, a rebel moved out of Seifer's swing and planted a bullet right into his right leg. He roared in pain and rage while Quistis flicked her whip at his attacker, catching it right on the chest.

Rinoa casted another healing spell on Seifer and shouted, "I know a way out of here but we need to stall these guys for a moment to get a good head start."

"We're not running away like cowards!" Seifer snapped. "We keep fighting until there's no one left standing."

Quistis' eyes met Rinoa's. By silent consent, they moved at the same time. Quistis summoned Shiva and used the GF's Diamond Dust to push the rebels back. Rinoa used a Blizzard spell on Seifer, catching him off guard. While he was still reeling, the girls each took an arm and dragged him off.

Rinoa took them through a door that was previously concealed behind the white drapes. The door was made of metal so she used Firaga to melt the frames together. Seifer was cursing at them both but Quistis shut him out and kept pulling on him as Rinoa turned to lead them. Left with no other option, he let himself be dragged, all the while threatening to get even.

They hadn't gone far when they heard a loud crash and more shouting. Quistis looked back but she couldn't see any pursuers. She urged Rinoa to hurry nonetheless. They shuffled along narrow hallways and staircases until finally they ended up at a door that led to a back street in downtown Timber. The noon sun was so bright in contrast to the dimly lit hallways they just went through that Quistis was momentarily blinded once she stepped out.

Once she blinked the sunspots away, she was surprised to find that instead of seeing an empty street, there were Balamb soldiers marching towards the town centre. She quickly shoved Rinoa and Seifer behind a dumpster and motioned for them to be quiet as she tried to process what she'd just seen.

She knew Irvine would send people for her but she'd expected a squad of three people at most. This was an entire battalion.

"What's going on?" Rinoa asked in confusion.

"Looks like the King's going all out to rescue his precious little sister," Seifer said nastily. "He sure overreacts, doesn't he?"

"Something's wrong. Why would Irvine send an army here when he knows it's going to give Galbadia the perfect excuse to accuse Balamb of violating the ceasefire?" Quistis wondered, more to herself than anyone else.

"He must really love you." Rinoa tilted her head inquisitively. "Why else would he do it?"

Quistis bit her lower lip nervously. Turning to Rinoa, she asked, "Is there anywhere I can make a secure phone call?"

Rinoa snapped her fingers. "I know! We have a satellite phone in one of our vehicles and it's parked not far from here! I don't know about secure but it hasn't been traced back to us so far."

"Right. You go make your little phone call while I go back and warn the army that Balamb's here," Seifer told Quistis.

"Wait!" She grabbed the sleeve of his long trench coat. "There's no way of stopping the war from restarting if you do."

He roughly pulled away, glaring at her. "So what? You want me to sit around twiddling my thumbs while you lot catch us unawares?"

"At least let me talk to Irvine first. There must be an explanation for this." She looked entreatingly at him. "Please, Seifer. Think of it as a favour for an old friend."

He looked torn then. Finally, he scowled and said, "I'll give you an hour, but only because you begged me."

Quistis squeezed his arm gratefully. Without another word, Rinoa motioned for them to follow her. They had to fight a few rebels along the way but they reached the phone in almost no time. As Quistis made the call, Seifer stood a few feet away, arms crossed. She prayed he wouldn't change his mind until she could figure out what she should do next.

Her call was quickly patched through to Irvine's office once the operator realized who the caller was. To her surprise, it was Squall that picked up. The screen embedded onto the vehicle's dash flickered and his face appeared.

"Quistis, where have you been?" he asked, his brows slightly wrinkled in displeasure.

"I'm in Timber, Squall. Where's Irvine?" As soon as she asked, Irvine appeared beside Squall.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" he asked in concern.

"I'm fine. More importantly, why is the army here? What happened to the ceasefire?"

"Galbadia's the one that threw the gauntlet. We had reliable intel that they've started mobilizing their troops in Deling City. We had to dispatch our own soldiers to defend the border," Irvine told her.

"Bullshit," Seifer said sharply, walking up the screen. Quistis closed her eyes, groaning inwardly. She'd rather Irvine and Squall didn't know Seifer was there.

"There's no way that's true. _I'm _their Commander and I don't remember giving any orders to that effect." Seifer put his hands on his sides.

"Why is Seifer with you, Quistis? What in the world have you been doing there?" Irvine leaned into the screen until his face almost filled it. "Don't tell me that Galbadia has taken you hostage after all?"

"Watch your mouth, pretty boy. Us Galbadians prefer the direct attack, unlike you sneaky bastards."

Quistis sighed. "It's not like that okay, Irvy? Seifer and I are working together to free Timber from the rebels. You know, so that you can go ahead with the truce negotiations? But you're going to ruin everything if you don't call the army back."

"It's too late for that, Quisty," Irvine told her, shaking his head. "We can't let Galbadia get the drop on us like the last time."

"Irvine, please don't do this. This is the absolutely wrong thing to do and you know it," she pleaded.

Something like uncertainty crossed his face. Perhaps sensing him wavering, Squall cut in.

"You should come home soon if you don't want to get caught in the crossfire. I'll be there by tonight so if you still refuse to return, I won't hesitate to use force."

"Don't you dare threaten me, Squall Leonhart!" she said sharply. "I am not wearing my SeeD uniform right now so you have no right to order me around. I will not leave here until I am ready to. And both of you are idiots for doing this. You're going to regret making this decision. I swear it!

With an angry exclamation, Quistis hit the disconnect button. There was silence as Rinoa stared at Quistis in something akin to awe on her face. Seifer was smirking at the now blank screen, obviously amused to see Squall get told off.

"That's it, I'm contacting Caraway," Seifer said, reaching for the phone.

"Wait, I know of a way to fix this." Quistis put the phone behind her back, out of his reach. She glanced at Rinoa pointedly, "If you could give us a moment?"

"I'll keep watch outside!" Rinoa said quickly, hopping down and scampering out of the parking garage.

"What now?" Seifer asked irascibly. "Another of your harebrained schemes?"

"Just shut up and hear me out, alright?" she snapped.

He looked like he wanted to strangle her so she rushed on, "Look, this war has gone on long enough and we're just going to prolong the sufferings of people from both our countries if it keeps up. Aren't you sick of people dying, Seifer? Don't you think enough's enough? Most of them don't even remember what we're fighting for anymore! Don't you want to end it?"

"What's your point?"

"I, uh, have a proposition for you," she said, stumbling slightly on her words.

He narrowed his eyes at her. She knew her face was red with embarrassment but she kept telling herself this was the only way she could think of to fix the situation.

Suddenly, a harsh laugh escaped from Seifer and he said, "Don't tell me you're planning to use your position as the King's sister to send the army back? There's no way they'd recognize your authority over your brother and his lapdog Commander."

"This has nothing to do with my brother or Squall," Quistis denied, angry at his insult. "I'm proposing marriage, you bastard!"

.

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A/N: Sometimes, when I write, I find myself being surprised by my own characters. For instance, I had no idea that Selphie was going to appear in this chapter until she did. Well, although I did plan to make this a very Seiftis-centric fic, my muses seem to have other ideas. So look forward to a little Selvine and (maybe?) Squinoa in the future. By the way, I have two final papers this week so the next update might take a little longer. And for those that left their reviews, thanks a lot! I really appreciate it :D

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Square-Enix. And the song Selphie was singing was from Paramore's Brick by Boring Brick.


	4. The Announcement

**Chapter Four: The Announcement**

"I don't have time for this, Quistis. Whatever it is you want to say, spit it out," Seifer said, frowning in annoyance.

Quistis gritted her teeth and her face turned redder. It was bad enough that she was proposing marriage to _Seifer_ but to have him dismiss the idea so quickly as too ridiculous to be taken seriously was absolutely humiliating.

"I'm being serious, Seifer. I want you to marry me," she said slowly, as if he was an idiot.

Quistis had never seen Seifer shocked speechless. He used to always be able to recover from a surprise within a few seconds, ready with a barbed retort at the same time. But now he was just staring at her and she was fascinated to see so many expressions cross his face as he tried to process what she just said.

"You're crazy," he said, turning away angrily. His coat swished and the gunblade sheathed at his side caught the sliver of sunlight peeking in from the entrance. "You hate me. Hyne, only yesterday you were all about Squall!"

"Let's keep personal feelings out of this, shall we? What I'm proposing is a marriage of convenience—to stop this war from restarting. If we can somehow announce our marriage before either armies start attacking, we might have a chance at peace at last."

He snorted. "Trust a woman to think that love can solve all problems. I'd always thought you were level-headed, Quistis. Who knew you're such a hardcore romantic?"

She let the insult pass and pressed on, "I'll tell everyone that the Balamb army was sent here because Irvine thought I was kidnapped but in actual fact I came here to find you, my supposed true love. We act like it's all a big misunderstanding and then say something like we only want peace so we can be together."

Now Seifer was staring at her like she'd lost her mind. Maybe she did, but better her mind than her heart. Besides, this was the only way she could think of that had a real chance of working.

"Our marriage could give the people of both countries what they so desperately wanted; hope. With everyone supporting us, Irvine and your father will have no other choice but to concede. After all, our marriage will be seen as the perfect opportunity to mend the rift between the two countries. Refusing to concede would only seem mulish and obstinate."

He looked bewildered. "I can't believe it but that actually made sense. But wait," he interrupted before Quistis could gloat, "we're talking about _marriage_ here, Quistis. Even if we can somehow fool half the world population that we're crazy in love today, what about after that? As long as we're married, we have to keep pretending. Besides, it could be years before things settled down enough that we can even _think_ about getting a divorce."

She lifted her chin. "It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Besides, that's nothing compared to what will happen if we don't stop the imminent second war."

He ran a hand through his hair, seemingly at a loss. The gesture was so similar to what Squall always did whenever he was disturbed that Quistis smiled. Maybe the two men were not as different as they'd like to believe.

"I guess we can just give it a try for now. Who knows, maybe just getting engaged is enough to do the trick instead of going with the whole nine yards."

Quistis nodded, deciding not to dispel his illusions. She knew better. There was no way their wedding wasn't going to be the most anticipated thing of the year. It was going to happen whether they want to or not.

"Okay, so the plan is, we broadcast from Timber TV Station. However, we need to hack into the satellite system and make sure both countries get the feed," she trailed off uncertainly. "Know anyone who can do that?"

He sighed. "As a matter of fact, I do."

Rinoa burst inside before Quistis could reply. "Bad news, guys. The soldiers are coming this way. We need to dash or—" she stopped in midsentence when she saw the expressions on their faces. "Um, are you guys ok?"

"We're getting married," Quistis told her with a humourless smile.

"What?" Rinoa swayed unsteadily as her head whipped between Quistis and Seifer.

Seifer ignored her. "I'll go get that hacker while you and Rinoa head to the TV station. Get rid of the rebels or anything else that might get in the way of the broadcast. I'll meet you there in about an hour."

"Right." Quistis nodded and pulled on a still spluttering Rinoa on the way out. "You'll have to show me the way to the TV station. I haven't been there in years."

Seifer was already heading towards the woods. As Rinoa led the way, she kept glancing at Quistis. Then Quistis remembered that she and Seifer used to be involved.

"You don't still have feelings for Seifer, do you?" she asked, making Rinoa jump and blush furiously.

_Oh._

"I'm sorry, I was just surprised. I didn't know you guys are together." They had stopped behind an abandoned army truck so Rinoa put her hands to her burning cheeks. "And after I said all those things about Seifer being a meanie earlier… I'm so embarrassed!"

A group of rebels were walking past so Quistis put a finger to her lips. When the coast was clear, she made a gesture for Rinoa to keep going. They hadn't gone far before Rinoa spoke again.

"Um, congratulations, by the way. Can't believe I forgot to say that."

To Quistis' relief, the TV station came into view. They split ways to check the perimeters, making sure that nobody else was there. When they met back at the main broadcast room, Rinoa was carrying a dress and what looked like a makeup case.

"You'll have to look pretty when you announce your engagement to the world," she said cheerfully, holding up the dress. "I found this in the costume department. It's gorgeous, right? I thought it would suit you. Not everyone can pull off this colour but with your complexion…I'm positive you'll look absolutely gorgeous in it!"

"Uh…" Quistis stammered. The dress was peach-coloured, knee length and sleeveless. Other than its wide boat neck, it had no other details and embellishments. It looked… plain and ordinary. Was that how Rinoa saw her?

But once Rinoa had done her makeup and hair, and made her put the dress on, Quistis stared at her own reflection in stunned silence. The dress hugged her body until it flared slightly from her hips to her knees, showing off her slender figure and long legs. The boat neck accentuated her long neck and collarbone, making her look both alluring and demure. Rinoa had found a pair of white lace gloves that reached her forearm in order to cover the new and old scars on her arms. The overall effect was sweet and romantic. She looked like a young girl in love.

"I've worn expensive designer dresses for court events before but this is just something else," she murmured. She fingered the ends of her hair, which had been pulled to one side of her shoulder and secured with a hairclip made of a single row of pearls.

They heard footsteps approaching and a moment later, Seifer entered with Selphie in tow. They both stopped in their tracks as soon as they saw Quistis. Seifer blinked and examined her from head to toe and Quistis felt a moment of pure feminine satisfaction at the appreciative glint in his eyes.

"Oh my Goddes! Ellie? _You're_ really Princess Quistis?" Selphie exclaimed. "And, and, wow, you look amazing!"

"Thanks. Don't tell me you're our computer whiz?"

Selphie beamed. "I can make any machine do whatever I want. It's sort of a gift."

Seifer came to stand directly in front of Quistis. She looked up at him questioningly as he took her left hand in his.

"You clean up well," he told her, smiling. She could not detect any sarcasm in his tone. In fact, he sounded… teasing?

"Uh, thanks." Her cheeks pinkened and she looked down to hide her confusion. Her heart had actually beat faster just from that casual compliment. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Selphie and Rinoa edging away to give them privacy.

Suddenly, she saw the glint of gemstones on her finger and finally noticed that he had slipped a ring on it. She gasped, taking in the flower-cut diamond flanked by two sapphires on a thin band of gold.

"Where did you get this?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Just something I picked up on the way here."

"You _stole_ an engagement ring?" she hissed angrily.

"Hey, if we're going to do this right, we need the right props. Anyway, if it bothers you so much, I'll make sure the jeweler gets his money once everything's over."

Quistis rolled her eyes. With a covert glance at Selphie, who was busy at work, and Rinoa, who was watching Selphie work, Quistis said, "So who else do you think should know the truth about us?"

"What do you mean, who else? We're not telling anyone. The way I see it, the less people who know, the better."

"You don't really expect my brother and Squall to just believe that I'm in love with you after not seeing you for years, do you? I mean, enough to run away here to be with you?"

"Why not? Or is the notion that the Princess could love a monster too impossible for them to swallow?" he asked mockingly, stepping away.

"That's not it and you know it," Quistis denied. "Besides, you're not a monster, Seifer."

He looked at her searchingly and she met his gaze without flinching. Somehow, he seemed to be under the impression that she and Irvine—and Squall, too, of course—had some kind of a superiority complex over him. She couldn't speak on behalf of Irvine or Squall but she had always known that while Seifer could be reckless and ruthless at times, he also had a streak of honour soul-deep. And even now, she was beginning to notice other facets of his personality that kept making her change her opinion of him for the better.

"Just tell them we write letters, or emails to each other. I don't really care as long as they believe we're the real thing," he said roughly, turning away.

Quistis frowned. Although she agreed that the less people who knew about them will mean the less chance of being exposed, she saw no good reason to keep even Irvine in the dark. But then again, Irvine would most probably try to stop her if he knew she was just pretending to love Seifer. Besides, it could be the perfect excuse for her refusal to marry Squall.

"You should probably change into something more presentable," she suggested after he restlessly paced around the room and shouting at Selphie to hurry up. He glared at her and she continued, "I don't want to introduce a scruffy, dust-covered man as my fiancé on international television. Rinoa can probably find you something to wear. She's pretty good at this kind of thing."

At the mention of her name, Rinoa perked up. "I'd love to dress you, Seifer! I haven't done that since—" she broke off, flushing.

"A shower would be a good idea as well," Quistis said, pretending not to notice Rinoa's slip of the tongue. Honestly, just because Quistis was going to marry Seifer didn't mean the fact that he and Rinoa used to be an item had suddenly become taboo. But Quistis hadn't forgotten the role Rinoa had in Xu's death so she had no intention of setting the girl's mind at ease.

Seifer was looking down at himself, scowling. Actually, for someone who had fought off rebels and trekked across town and back, he didn't look all that bad but his impatience was making Selphie flustered so Quistis decided getting him out of the room might make the girl work faster.

"Just so you know, I'm not wearing a stupid suit or anything," Seifer warned as he and Rinoa strode off.

When it was just the two of them, Quistis and Selphie let out a sigh of relief simultaneously. Selphie glanced at her and giggled. Quistis smiled and took a seat near her.

"I know he's the man I'm going to marry and all but he can be so…ornery sometimes," Quistis joked.

Selphie grinned. "I think it's so romantic that both of you are still fighting for your love even though you're separated by the war and everything."

"Hmm…" Quistis murmured, resting her chin on one hand.

"So how did you two fall in love? How did he propose? Did you miss him a lot when you were separated?"

"We've known each other since we were kids. I guess when you know someone that long, everything else just…falls into place." Quistis stood up and walked to stand beside the window. She didn't get rid of Seifer so _she_ could be a distraction to Selphie. Besides, she still needed to think about what she was going to say later.

In the back of her head, she already had a rough idea of her speech. She didn't think she would have any problem making the announcement. The real challenge would be to convince Irvine and Squall. As far as Squall was concerned, Quistis was still in love with him more than a year ago. And with the war and everything, where would she get the opportunity to see Seifer and fall for _him_?

"Alright, I'm done!" Selphie exclaimed. "We can start broadcasting once you guys are ready!"

Quistis started to walk over but something outside caught her attention. She pressed her face against the glass for a better look and realized that the Balamb soldiers were approaching the TV station. From their body language, it didn't look as if they were specifically heading there on a mission so Quistis had to assume that it was just a routine sweeping of the area.

_If we don't hurry, we're going to get caught_.

With that thought in mind, she spun around to get Seifer—and ran right into him, her face smack against his chest.

"What the—" she mumbled, bewildered. She didn't even hear him approach, much less notice how long he'd been standing behind her.

"I'm thinking we still have about ten minutes before they bust in on us," Seifer said, still looking outside as if her running into him barely even registered.

"Right," Quistis muttered. "So I'll be doing all the talking while you just agree with everything I say."

"Just as if we're already married," he said, making a face.

Quistis crossed her arms at him. "Or would you prefer to do the whole I'm-so-in-love-with-you-I'd-even-defy-my-country-for-you speech?"

He grimaced. "You're right. You talk, I agree."

It was then that Quistis noticed that Seifer hadn't changed out of his earlier clothes. But he did look like he took that shower she recommended since his hair was combed back and he was clean-shaven. He looked presentable enough, although privately Quistis thought he looked better before. More dangerous.

She shook herself mentally. This wasn't the time to start thinking about _that_.

"You guys ready?" Selphie asked as she trained the camera on them.

Quistis and Seifer stood side by side against a green screen backdrop, which Selphie insisted on superimposing a picture of a flower field. The extra effect was unnecessary but Quistis relented because Selphie was so excited over it.

"And we're live!" Selphie said after counting down.

Quistis took a deep breath. "Citizens of Balamb and Galbadia, I am Princess Quistis of the Kingdom of Balamb and I would like a few minutes of your time to listen to me. I know you have suffered in this war. We have all suffered. We have given up so much—more than anyone was supposed to—and had so much taken away from us. And now, even when we think the end of our plight is near, we still cannot see any tangible proof of it."

She stopped for a meaningful pause. "My whole life, I had lived by following the rules. I have done what is expected of me as a member of the royal family and stayed away from anything that can bring shame to my family and my people. But today, for the first time in my life, I am opposing everything—my upbringing, my family, my status, and my country—for one selfish request."

She looked up at Seifer and saw the amused glint in his eyes. He was no doubt laughing at her corny speech and she was torn between laughing with him or smacking him for it. She gave a warning look at him and turned back to the camera, forcing herself to concentrate on finishing her speech.

"I wish for there to be peace between Balamb and Galbadia. This man is the only son of President Almasy, and the person I love and wish to spend the rest of my life with. We've had enough of the war separating us."

Quistis paused as the lights begin to flicker suddenly. A moment later, there was a loud click and the power went out. Selphie exclaimed in protest as the live feed got cut off while Rinoa ran to check outside the window.

"We're surrounded! They must have figured out that we're broadcasting from here," she told them.

"Those rude bastards. They didn't even let us finish our speech," Seifer said, taking out his gunblade. Quistis rolled her eyes at him and took out her own weapon.

"We can't let ourselves be caught. With the way things are going, it's no longer safe to stay in Timber. We need to move on to a new location while we wait for the result of our announcement," Quistis told him.

"I think we should move on to Dollet. It's the closest town," Selphie suggested. When Quistis and Seifer only stared at her, she said, "What?"

"Maybe it's better if it's only Seifer and I from now on. You've already done so much for us and I don't want to drag you deeper into this mess. Besides, don't you want to go back to Trabia?" Quistis asked.

"But I want to stay with you guys. We're friends, aren't we?"

Quistis glanced at Seifer, who just shrugged carelessly. "Doesn't really matter to me as long as she doesn't slow us down."

"Um, can I go with you guys too?" Rinoa asked. At the look on Quistis' face, she flinched but went on, "I know I've done something terrible and I don't know how I can make up for that but I'd like it if you can at least give me a chance to try."

"Well, this is no time for useless chitchat. Let's just go anyway," Seifer finally said before Quistis could refuse.

Deciding that the urgency lies in escaping rather than arguing about who's going along with them, she kept her mouth shut and followed him out the door.

.

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A/N: This chapter is slightly shorter and took some time to be published for a few reasons. Firstly, after my final semester submission, I got caught up with my part time job and didn't have much time to write. And then, because this chapter was particularly hard for me to write, it took a while for me to be somewhat happy with it. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy and look forward to the Seiftis goodness coming up!


	5. Fugitives

**Chapter Five - Fugitives  
**

Because of the soldiers swarming all over the city, they had to wait until it was dark before they could leave Timber for Dollet. With the soldiers there to keep the rebels in line, the townspeople gradually began to return to their homes. Selphie was able to get supplies and clothes for them while the other three stayed hidden. When midnight came and went and the whole town settled down for the night, they slipped out of town.

It had sounded like a great idea at the time to go to Dollet on foot but Quistis forgot they had to either hike through the barren Monterosa Plateau or navigate the treacherous Yaulny Canyon—or both—to get there. Their other option was to flag down any vehicles that happen to be on their way to Dollet but that would be stupid since she and Seifer were easily the most recognizable faces in the world right then.

So a few miles after Timber was nothing but a silhouette in the horizon, she stopped everyone to regroup. Spreading out a map of Galbadia on the ground and using a penlight to illuminate it, she asked whether they should reassess the situation.

"I say we hijack the first vehicle we run into," Seifer said, sitting on his haunches while his arms dangled over his knees. He didn't even spare a glance at the map but that was probably because he knew the layout of the land better than any of them.

"This close to town? We'll be discovered within days," Quistis pointed out, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Besides, we still need to cross the canyon and I bet they'll have soldiers guarding that area."

"There _are_ guards posted there because it's a checkpoint for supplies coming in and out of Dollet. If we can figure out a way to cross the river, we might have a better chance of eluding the soldiers." Seifer pointed to a place on the map where a canal made by two points of land led into a rectangular-shaped lake with the eastern tip leading inland and ending a few miles from Dollet.

"The journey could take days and that's presuming we can survive the elements and the monsters there," Rinoa protested. Angelo, who never left her side, whinnied and laid her nose on her mistress' lap, sensing her distress.

"We can go to Winhill. It's really close," Selphie pointed out, her finger on a dot on the map marked 'Winhill'.

"No way. It's too small. They'll recognize us before we even cross the town border," Rinoa said.

Quistis stared at the map intently, as if willing a solution to present itself on the slightly crumpled piece of paper. She knew what they had to do, but she also knew her suggestion would be met with incredulity if she dared air it. But it was the only sane way she could think of to solve their problems.

"We should head to the capital city instead. After all, the most dangerous hiding place is usually the best," she said, watching for their reactions.

Interestingly, Seifer went pale while Rinoa turned red. Always the optimist, Selphie only clapped her hands and said that it was a crazy but brilliant plan.

"That is by far the dumbest thing you've ever suggested, Quistis," Seifer snapped. "Rinoa's and my fathers are in Deling, not to mention the fact that there will be five times as many soldiers there than Dollet. Oh, and let's not forget that practically everyone there knows what I look like since I actually _live_ there!"

Quistis pursed her lips and glanced at Rinoa. The other girl need not further prompting as she also launched into her own protest, "There are probably wanted posters with my _face_ on them all over town. I am the army general's runaway daughter who led a rebel group to practically destroy Timber, remember?"

After both outbursts, Quistis held up a placating hand. She looked at Selphie, wondering if the brunette also wanted to have her say but she merely shook her head, her gaze flying from Seifer to Rinoa and back to Quistis again.

"I know it sounds crazy but we only need to lie low for a few days. There will be pressure for the treaty to be signed as soon as possible and it will all probably go down in Deling since I'm sure Squall and Irvine are already camping out in Timber. If worse comes to worst, we'll use the citizen's support to rally against the government. What can they do to us, anyway? Imprison us? That will turn the tides against the President quicker than a T-Rexaur's tail whip."

"You're talking about starting a riot here, Quistis. Isn't that exactly the kind of thing we set out to prevent with the engagement announcement?" Seifer snapped.

She flushed. "I'm talking about the worst case scenario. Surely your father isn't stupid enough to risk the voters' favours to punish you for falling in love with the enemy."

Something dangerous seemed to glitter in Seifer's eyes then. "Fine, you run the show. Make all the decisions yourself, like you've been doing up until now."

As Quistis stared at him in astonishment, he stood up and stalked away with a muttered oath. He stood a few feet away, his back to them. Rinoa frowned at Quistis, seeming to be puzzled.

"What's eating him?" Selphie asked.

Deciding to ignore him, Quistis rolled up the map and stuck it back into her backpack. "Rinoa, do you still think it's better to avoid Deling after all?"

She hesitated. "I guess as long as we're careful, we'll be okay for a few days."

"I don't get why we need to hide," Selphie interrupted. "Both of you getting engaged is a _good_ thing, right? It means the war is over."

"Until that peace treaty is signed, both of us are still enemies," Quistis explained. "But as long as we stay hidden, both our governments will have little choice but to reconcile. After all, with my engagement to Seifer becoming known to the public, they will have every reason to sign the treaty and no good reason not to."

They hiked their way across the continent through the night, with the light of the moon guiding them. They ran into very little monster trouble since most were creatures of the day and were most probably sleeping at that time. However, as dawn approached, Quistis began to worry about finding shelter for the day. There was no way they were going to survive the dessert heat when the sun was up so their best option would be to find a shaded place with water and wait until it was dark again to continue their journey.

"Can I take a look at the map again?" Rinoa asked Quistis when they stopped to regroup. After having their location pointed out to her, Rinoa said, "I know there's a rest house nearby. My family used to stay there whenever my father had business at the prison. There should still be electricity and water there. It's about three hours' drive from the city but only an hours' to the prison."

"And there aren't any soldiers there?" Quistis asked skeptically.

"No. It's on private property. My father built it so that he could be close to us when he had work there. That was when my mother was still alive." Rinoa's voice was steady but her lips trembled slightly at the mention of her mother.

Despite herself, Quistis heard her voice soften as she asked, "Do you know where it is?"

"I can't read maps well but I think it's somewhere around here." Rinoa made a small circle on an area on the map.

"Seifer, are you familiar with that area?" Quistis looked up at him but he was sitting a few feet away, polishing his gunblade while pointedly ignoring her. With a sigh, she looked back at the map.

"How far is it from the main road?" she asked Rinoa.

Rinoa put a finger on her chin, pondering the question. "It usually takes us about half an hour after the turn from the main road to get there."

"That's a pretty wide area to cover," Quistis murmured, frowning. She didn't much like wandering around practically blind but it wasn't as if they had much choice. "Well, I guess it's our best option so far. Let's go."

It was midmorning by the time they finally stumbled upon the rest house. By that time, Selphie was practically wilting under the hot desert sun. Quistis was about to suggest they abandon the search when Rinoa exclaimed that she recognized the area. They were in an area where there were more trees than exposed land.

"I know this place. I think this is the tree we planted together so many years ago. It's grown so tall." She touched the trunk of the tree tenderly, as if the slightest pressure would send it toppling backwards.

She took a deep breath. "We're almost there. I think I can find the way from here."

They walked for another half an hour until they could see part of a roof from between the trees. As they walked, the woods had grown thicker and it was right in the thickest part that the house came into full view. Made of greystone and wood, the one-storey house was smaller than Quistis expected. There was a fenced-in area nearby that looked like it used to be a garden but now was only filled with weed.

Rinoa walked up the stairs to the front door and began running her hand against the wall on the left side. After a few tries, she managed to pull out a piece of stone and took a set of keys out of the hole. She used one to open the front door and gestured for the rest to follow her inside.

"It's so clean!" Selphie exclaimed in pleasure as she looked around.

The front door led straight to the living room where there was only a loveseat and a throw rug on the floor. An archway seemed to lead into a small kitchen and there were two doors that Quistis assumed led to the bedrooms.

"My father sends someone to come keep the place in shape once in a while," Rinoa explains distractedly as she headed straight for the kitchen.

Seifer had deposited their things by the front door as Quistis went to open the windows to let the air in. she was glad that they didn't have to clean up the place since she was so worn out, she was practically swaying when she was standing still.

"A shower and a bed would be so great right now," she murmured to no one in particular.

Rinoa reappeared from the kitchen. "Thankfully, we still have army rations that haven't expired. I'll get started on the food while you guys freshen up. There are two bedrooms so I'll share with Selphie. Quistis and Seifer can take the master bedroom."

Seifer scowled but didn't say anything else. He just took his bag and stalked into the room Rinoa had just indicated. Sighing, Quistis followed him while mentally berating herself for not seeing this coming. Of course everyone would assume they were sleeping together. She would just arouse suspicion if she refused to share the same room with her own fiancé. But with the mood Seifer was in, maybe they would be spared the awkwardness after all. He seemed determined to give her the cold shoulder and she honestly had no energy to care at the moment.

To her relief, the master bedroom had its own bathroom, which was where the other door in the room led to when she went to inspect it. Seifer was already undressing when she opened the door and he turned to glare at her.

"Do you mind?" he snapped.

"Ever heard of locking the door?"

Before he could reply, she shut the door. Only then did she take in the huge four-poster bed that took up most of the space in the room. Really, there was not even enough space for one of them to sleep on the floor with an empty wardrobe occupying the other corner of the room.

Quistis dumped her things at the foot of the bed and threw herself onto the soft mattress. She could almost feel her energy slipping down her limbs and out the tips of her fingers as she lay on the bed, motionless. Never in her life had she been so exhausted.

She heard the muffled sound of water being turned on. There was just something…intimate about the situation—Seifer in the shower and her lounging in bed—so she was determined to leave the room before he was done showering. But her body refused to respond to her command to get up. In fact, she could barely even feel her legs anymore.

She closed her eyes. Maybe if she pretended to be asleep, she could skip the whole awkwardness. But the traveling and worrying and stress finally caught up to her and she really fell asleep almost as soon as her eyelids came down.

She dreamt that she was trying to cross a river while wearing a wedding dress. The current was not too strong and the river was not all that wide but it seemed to take forever to get to the other side. Her wedding dress was white, frilly and had a wide hoop skirt that must span a few feet around her but it was not being dragged by the current. So she could not understand why she seemed unable to progress closer to the riverbank.

Behind her, she could hear Irvine calling for her to come back. The compulsion to turn around was strong but something deep in her told her that she must keep going forward. Quistis gritted her teeth, lifted her skirt, and kept wading through the knee-deep water. Finally, she could see a silhouette in the distance. It was Seifer, looking bored and arrogant. Selphie and Rinoa were standing on either side of him, waving her on. And as she got closer, she could hear a huge crowd cheering and applauding while calling out her name.

When she could no longer hear Irvine's voice, her steps became quicker and the riverbank grew nearer. But just as she was about to take that last step onto dry land, she heard the voices of her parents behind her.

"_Quistis has always been a practical and dutiful daughter,"_ her father said. "S_he would never betray her family. It's just not in her."_

"_Oh yes, she would never deliberately cause pain to the people she loves, even if she's the one who gets hurt in the end,"_ her mother said.

"_But look at her now! She's going to join the other side!"_ Irvine exclaimed.

"_Don't be silly. That's not Quistis. She would never do something like that,"_ her mother chided him gently.

"_No, that's not Quistis. That's not my daughter,"_ her father agreed. _"Let's look for her somewhere else."_

Quistis' head whipped around so quickly that she almost fell over. But there was nobody behind her—not even the opposite riverbank was visible. There was only water as far as the eyes could see.

"_No, no, no, you're wrong! I am your daughter! I'm Quistis!"_ she screamed, only to be greeted by silence.

"_Mother? Father?"_ she said in a small voice, almost as if she was a little girl again and had gotten lost in the forest bordering their summer house. But the only sound that greeted her was the roar of the current, which had suddenly grown stronger and was pushing and pulling at the hem of her dress, dragging her down.

She tried to turn and climb up to where Seifer and the others were but suddenly lost her footing and fell into the river with a loud splash. As the current dragged her away, she thrashed around, trying to fight against it.

"Quistis!"

She woke up with a gasp and the first thing she saw was Seifer leaning over her, his hands pinning her arms down into the bed. His eyes looked almost silver in the darkness as he frowned down at her. She blinked uncomprehendingly, for a moment still wondering if Seifer had saved her from drowning.

But then she remembered where she was. "Oh. I was having a nightmare."

"Must have been one hell of a nightmare. You were thrashing around like a dying Chimera," he told her wryly as he let go of her and sat at the edge of the bed.

She noticed for the first time that he was only wearing a pair of light-coloured pants. It was the first time she had seen him topless and the sight of his bare chest made colour rush to her cheeks. Even with only the weak light coming from the window, she could see the smooth planes of his chest and his well-sculpted biceps. She quickly looked away, hoping he had not noticed.

"How long did I sleep?" she asked, realizing that the light streaming in was moonlight. She could have sworn she had nodded off for only a few minutes. She was even still wearing her jacket and boots.

"About twelve hours," Seifer told her with a sidelong glance. "It's past midnight. You slept through lunch _and_ dinner."

And yet, she wasn't hungry _or_ refreshed. She couldn't even muster enough strength to sit up. However, she did wiggle out of her jacket and threw it onto the floor by the bed. Her boots couldn't be rid of so easily so she forced herself to get up and take them off. All the while, Seifer watched her silently.

"I'm so glad we're not continuing our journey tonight," she said to no one in particular. She still couldn't gauge his mood and had no desire to get into a verbal fight at the moment.

"We're going to take the car and drive into town tomorrow—in disguises, of course—and pretend to be tourists coming for the wedding," he said. "If that pleases Your Majesty."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "The last part was unnecessary."

"I'm sorry, I thought you have to be in charge of everything," he said mockingly.

She sighed and turned to her side so that she had her back against him. "Whatever."

Instantly, she thought of Squall. He always said that word whenever he couldn't bother to continue a conversation—mostly because he had no patience for things that did not concern him. Just like that, she felt that familiar pain in her chest—as if something was trying to pull her heart down to her feet—whenever she thought of Squall.

"It's too late for regrets now," she murmured to herself.

Seifer had gotten off the bed but he still heard her because she could feel his sudden stillness. She hadn't been talking to him but she might as well had. Regret was probably what he was feeling right now. He might even feel trapped at the thought of marrying someone he didn't love and probably didn't even like.

Quistis turned around to face him. "I didn't twist your arm nor did I put a gun to your head. It was my idea that we get married but we made the decision to go through with it together."

"And?" he said, his voice cold enough to freeze the Fire Cavern.

She glared at him. "And I don't understand why you're giving me attitude about it. What is your problem?"

"My problem, _Princess_, is that I thought this would be an equal partnership. But of course, I should've known that you want to be the one who runs the whole show. You always were a bossy control freak."

"Well, excuse me for not stopping and asking for everyone's opinion while a whole battalion of soldiers were hot on our heels," she replied sarcastically.

"Soldiers who are after us because you came up with the brilliant idea of faking a marriage and announcing it to the whole world," he sneered.

"So you're changing your mind? You don't want to do this anymore? You want to go back on your word? That's too bad, Seifer, because even with all the things you lack as a person, I've always thought that honour is not one of them."

They stared at each other—Quistis chest heaving and Seifer still as a statue. Only a minute ago it took all she had just to take off her shoes but now adrenaline was fast replacing fatigue and she could just _strangle_ Seifer.

_Or jump him,_ she thought.

Quistis gasped, mortified. Did she actually just think that? She tried to remind herself that this was _Seifer_ and one just does not have _those_ kinds of thoughts about him—no matter how sexy he looks. That was just asking for trouble.

Before she could do anything stupid, she threw herself under the covers. She could hear Seifer curse and a moment later, the door being slammed. Good. She hoped he didn't come back until her own sanity returned.

_I'm just tired and I got carried away with the mood and the moonlight and the sight of those hard muscles…_

She groaned.

.

.

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A/N: Wow, has it really been more than a month since my last update? Guess the whole weekly update thing is not working out so well... If this chapter hasn't been one of my best, I do apologise. I've had a rough breakup recently and was just not in the mood to write any romantic stuff. But I'll never finish the story if I don't force myself to write so...here it is. I'm halfway through with the next chapter so let's hope I can get it out by this week as well.

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P/S: Thanks so much for all the constructive comments you guys left. I haven't had time to reply to them yet but do keep them coming!


	6. Sparks

**Chapter 6 - Sparks  
**

Quistis was unable to sleep after that brief moment of insanity and ended up staring out the window from the bed until the sun rose. Seifer didn't come in so she was at least grateful for that. She didn't know how she was going to face him if he did.

_How did I go from not-quite-liking him to wanting to jump his bones in a matter of hours?_

No matter how hard or how long she thought about it, she couldn't come up with the answer. So she pushed herself off the bed and took a long shower. When she finally emerged from the bedroom, there was only Rinoa sitting cross-legged in the middle of the living room. What looked like a toolbox was lying open in front of her and she was carefully rummaging through it.

"Where's everyone else?" Quistis asked, startling Rinoa into dropping something that clattered into the box.

Rinoa stood up, running a finger through her hair and smiling sheepishly. "Oh, you're up. Um, Selphie and Seifer are at the garage, tinkering with the car. We need it to run since we're driving into town today."

"I see." It suddenly occurred to Quistis that she had no idea what the plan was beyond what Seifer told her the night before.

"You must be hungry. I've made some stew from a can for breakfast. Come on, let's eat."

Her stomach automatically growled at the mention of food and Quistis realized she hasn't eaten since yesterday morning. So when Rinoa put a plate of dubious-looking meat stew in front of her, she almost lost to the urge to just shove everything into her mouth.

"Um, so," Quistis said, clearing her throat and slowly putting a spoonful of food into her mouth. "What were you doing just now?"

They were sitting at a counter in the kitchen. At Quistis' inquiry, Rinoa went back into the living room and returned with the box which she deposited on the floor near Quistis' feet.

"They're my mother's old makeup kit. Most of them are hopelessly expired but there are still some things we can use for our disguise today. These, for instance," Rinoa said while holding up a hair curler and iron. Quistis simply stared at them in confusion.

"Wait, you missed the planning session last night!" she exclaimed. "Of course you don't know what I'm talking about. Okay, so here's the plan. Selphie found an old radio last night and we heard that literally thousands of people are mobbing Deling City from all over the continent just to attend the wedding."

"We don't even know if there's going to _be_ a wedding. If the treaty isn't signed, Seifer and I might just become fugitives for the rest of our lives," Quistis pointed out.

"That doesn't matter to these people. Anyway, we can take this opportunity to blend in with the crowd. I have a contact in the city who can supply us with clothes and fake IDs and we're meeting him at 1500 local time today near the city border. After all preparations have been made, we'll enter the city through the main gates, just like all the other tourists."

"Sounds a little too easy," Quistis said uneasily.

"Of course, we'll split into two groups. You, me, and Seifer together are way too recognizable so Selphie will go with Seifer using the car while you and I are hitching a ride with my friend, pretending to be his cousins from out of town."

Quistis considered the plan and admitted that it was a pretty good one. But she was still a little worried about the effectiveness of their disguises. It was one thing to dye her hair and infiltrate Timber—nobody was expecting her and therefore weren't specifically looking for her—but now they were definitely looking for her and Seifer so they will be more alert.

Rinoa seemed to read her mind. "Selphie suggested that we dye your hair again but Seifer was dead set against it. So we compromised and decided to give you a perm instead."

"I'm glad to hear that the decision on what to do with my hair was made without consulting me first," Quistis said wryly.

Rinoa snorted. "Seifer was pretty specific about what he wanted. I've always suspected that he prefer blondes; now I know why," she told Quistis, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Really?" Quistis frowned doubtfully. Deciding to change the subject, she asked, "What about everyone else's disguises?"

"You and I are playing the part of country bumpkins from Winhill so my hair is going to be in braids. Of course, with the help of makeup, our prettiness will be toned down into the plainness more befitting of country bumpkins." Rinoa grinned while saying the last sentence to show that she was joking. "Selphie is going to masquerade as a teenage boy. Her hair is going to be hidden in a hat and she'll wear baggy clothes—all her idea, of course. She's so excited about playing the part of a boy that she's copying how Seifer moves, which is driving him crazy."

Quistis laughed, imagining Selphie shadowing Seifer and him growling at her to get lost. "I hope she doesn't copy his half smirk as well. Wait, it could actually work—the whole cocky, self-important teen thing. Can you imagine Selphie in her male getup with all of Seifer's swagger?"

Quistis and Rinoa were laughing when Seifer appeared at the doorway, his hands and clothes covered with grease. He surveyed the two of them with a frown and went to the sink for a glass of water without saying a word.

"Rinoa was just telling me about the plan," Quistis told him needlessly.

"So?"

"So I think it's a good one. See what I did there? I just resisted the urge to take charge of everything like the control freak that I am. Aren't you _so_ proud of me?" she asked him with a sweet smile, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

He put the glass down and leaned across the counter until his face was mere inches from her. She resisted the urge to back away and met his eyes with a bravado she didn't feel. From this close, she could see that his not-quite-blue, not-quite-green eyes had little gold flecks in them.

"Good job. That's my girl," he told her, his smile mocking. Quistis leaned back, did a mock salute with her spoon and went back to eating. Seifer smirked at her and walked out the kitchen without another word.

Rinoa was hanging back awkwardly, obviously unsure of what to do or say. Quistis ignored her, not even bothering to care that they didn't look anywhere close to the happy couple they presented to the public only two days ago. Besides, Rinoa must be obtuse if she still hadn't noticed that Seifer didn't spend the night in the same room with Quistis last night.

"I'm so jealous of you," Rinoa sighed, surprising Quistis.

"You are?"

The brunette took a seat beside Quistis and said, "I've never seen that side of Seifer before."

"You mean, his cutting, snappish, insensitive side?"

Rinoa grinned. "Exactly. Believe it or not, the Seifer I know may be a little sarcastic but an overall outgoing guy."

"So I bring out the worse in him? How is that something to be jealous of?" Quistis demanded.

"What I meant was, after seeing how he is with you, I've finally understood that I never knew the real Seifer. It's like the person he was with me used his Devil-may-care attitude to keep me—and everyone else—at a distance. You're the only person he allows beyond the walls. You're the only one who can see him for who he really is."

Quistis put her spoon down. She had a hard time picturing Seifer as 'outgoing'. But looking back, it had always been when Seifer was around that they had so much fun as kids. Sure they did reckless, stupid things at his urgings but there were times when they discovered some wonderful things while being reckless and stupid. Like that time Quistis was goaded into climbing up the tallest—and absolutely forbidden—tower at the palace and ended up watching the most beautiful sunset from the best place in the entire kingdom.

"He does the same for me," Quistis admitted. "I've always been obedient and dependable to the point that people sometimes just walk all over me. But Seifer always calls me out on that and forces me to stand up for myself. I'm not sure if that's such a good thing but I have to confess that it feels…liberating not to have to live up to anyone's expectations and just being able to be myself."

"Sounds like a match made in heaven," Rinoa joked. However, her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

Or hell, depending on how you look at it, since the 'real' Seifer and Quistis couldn't even seem to stop fighting with each other. She knew the reason behind _her_ antagonistic attitude toward him. Despite her best judgement, she was attracted to Seifer. Even now, remembering him topless last night was making her pulse race.

_This does not bode well with my plans to keep my emotional distance,_ she thought glumly.

"Good morning, you two!" Selphie greeted them, sailing into the kitchen with a cheerful smile. "Why the long faces?"

"And why are you so happy?" Rinoa asked.

"I'm always happy!" Selphie countered, grinning. "By the way, I'm so hungry! What's for breakfast?"

"Mystery meat," Rinoa told her with a wry smile. She gestured towards the pot of stew on the stove.

"Oh, goody! I was just craving some!"

Quistis snorted. She was, however, grateful for the interruption. She didn't think she could face Rinoa's pain a moment longer. Certainly, the fact that Rinoa still hadn't gotten over Seifer was obvious to Quistis but she herself had other things to worry about without the unnecessary guilt of being partly responsible for that pain.

She had an unexpected and unwelcome infatuation to think through. So Quistis excused herself under the pretext of wanting to stretch her legs and went out of the house.

.

.

"Well," Rinoa said, pursing her lips.

Quistis couldn't have said it better. She looked down at herself—at her gingham pinafore and white blouse and white socks and sturdy brown loafers—and felt ridiculous. They had gone to so much effort to look inconspicuous. Quistis' hair was permed into tight curls that was pulled back into a high ponytail and there was so much 'camouflage' makeup on her face that she swore the whole thing was going to fall off in one big piece of foundation and falsies. And all so that she wouldn't look like herself.

However, it soon became apparent the closer they got into the city that looking like herself was probably the best way to enter the city incognito. So far, they had run into so many people with long blonde hair and peach-coloured outfits on the street that Quistis had to wonder if there had been a sudden explosion of blonde population in the years she had not been in Deling.

She would have drawn that conclusion had it not been for the occasional men—also with blonde hair—whose face were sporting the diagonal scar eerily similar to Seifer's—or Squall's, since apparently some of them drew it in the opposite direction. And they were carrying _signs_.

"Why do all these people look like you?" Rinoa asked. "And Seifer, too? Is that guy carrying a picket that said 'Make Love not War'?"

Quistis couldn't answer. She was still getting over the weird feeling that this was all a dream and she would wake up in Rinoa's safe house at any minute. But unfortunately, she clearly remembered the drive from said house and then the rendezvous with Zell Dincht, who was Rinoa's 'contact in the city'. She remembered having donned the clothes Zell had brought and the makeup applied by Rinoa. Finally, she remembered the almost unbelieveable ease of getting through the security checks at the city limits and then the drive downtown.

"Yeah, I thought about telling you guys earlier but this is one of those things where you have to see it to believe it," Zell told them, navigating the traffic while the crowd flooded the street and blocked some of the roads. "They were all about protesting the war before this but now they're really giving it to the government for standing in the way of Princess Quistis and Seifer Almasy's love. Anyway, this is just the protesting crowd. Wait until you see the Royal Wedding Carnival crowd. People in wedding dresses everywhere you can think of, carrying random 'souvenirs' of the upcoming wedding."

"The what carnival?" Quistis asked incredulously.

"I guess all that concealer I put on Seifer's scar was for naught," Rinoa complained. "And I put so much effort into it, too!"

Quistis decided that she would be better off ignoring them and decided to settle for just staring out the window. Aside from the bizarre sight of the cosplayers, Deling City had not changed much since the last time Quistis was there. In fact, if she hadn't known better, she would not even be able to tell that there was war going on in the country. Unlike the destitute Timber town, Deling was flourishing. Well-dressed people were meandering on the streets, shiny and expensive cars littered its well-paved roads and happy children were laughing and playing happily.

"In Balamb, people are worrying each day if their sons, husbands and fathers are going to come home," Quistis murmured to herself.

Rinoa glanced at her. "The media is sponsored by the government so whatever casualties and realities of the war were grossly under-reported. They said that Balamb soldiers are trying to occupy some parts of the country in an attempt to slowly take over Galbadia. So people drafted into the army were sent off with the lame excuse of protecting the border while the media keeps telling everyone that the situation is under control."

"How do they explain the deaths and people coming back severely wounded?" Quistis asked incredulously.

"Everything's being sugar-coated. There is still a small percentage of people who are aware of the real situation but honestly, when you look around, it's a little hard to believe that people are fighting and dying when everything around us in the city is peaceful and prosperous," Zell said, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. "And anyone who gets too vocal about things are 'dealt with' in secret."

"It sounds wildly unbelieveable," Quistis mumbled.

"But that's the reality of the people in the capital city," Rinoa said softly, her eyes faraway.

Quistis looked again at the people going about their lives as if everything was normal and found that it was indeed possible for such ignorance to persist.

They spent the rest of the ride in silence after that. When they arrived at the abandoned shopping mall construction site which was the rendezvous spot, Seifer was already waiting there with Selphie. The former had his arms crossed as he leaned against the car, looking very out of place in his expensive suit and slickly combed (dyed) black hair. Selphie was wearing baggy clothes and a pair of goggles over a snowcap on her head.

"Ah, the prodigal son of a rich businessman and his younger brother," Rinoa greeted them, hopping out of the van as soon as it came to a stop. "Funny meeting you here."

Seifer regarded her over the rim of his sunglasses. "I could say the same to you. Don't you have hays to throw around or milk to carry?"

Rinoa was giggling when Quistis came to stand beside her. "Have you seen it?"

"If by 'it' you mean the disturbing sight of people actually cosplaying to look like both of us, then the answer is yes, seen it, believed it, and got repulsed by it," Seifer drawled. "You look ridiculous, by the way."

"You're one to talk, Slick," Quistis shot back, rolling her eyes.

"In light of recent events," Selphie cut in, "do we continue with the plan?"

They looked at each other. The plan was for them to stay in a hotel until it's the right time for them to reveal themselves. There were initially some dispute on what the right time would be but in the end, they agreed that it should be when the announcement for the treaty to be signed was made.

"We should stick to the plan," Rinoa said. "Besides, Zell already got us rooms at The Green Chocobo."

"The Green Chocobo? Really?" Seifer asked doubtfully.

Zell shrugged. "Hey, it's the best I can do at such short notice. Besides, with so many people flooding the city, it's a miracle I was able to get you a room at all, much less two!"

"We should check out the carnival tonight!" Selphie suggested, clapping her hands and jumping with excitement.

"That sounds a little risky…" Quistis said uncomfortably. "We might be recognized."

"Nah, I think it'll work. Nobody will be expecting to see the real thing here of all places. Besides, isn't it nice to see all the people who are supporting you guys right now?" Rinoa pointed out. She smiled sadly, and went on, "Unfortunately for me, this is goodbye. I've decided to go back home and seriously talk to my Dad instead of just running away."

"Rinny…" Selphie stepped forward to hold Rinoa's hands. "You're leaving us?"

"It's been fun. It's been really, really fun." A tear rolled down Rinoa's cheek and she wiped it off carelessly with the sleeve of her dress. "But seeing you guys so seriously fighting for what you believe in made me realize how shallow I've been. I've only been concerned about my own problems and caused so much pain and trouble to everyone else. So it's time for me to face the consequences. But before I can fix anything, I have to face the source of my own misery first so I'm going home."

Rinoa turned to Quistis. "Quistis, I realized there's nothing I can say or do that would make things better. But from the bottom of my heart, I wish that you will someday find it in you to forgive me."

Quistis was frozen in place. This was the part where she was supposed to gracefully accept Rinoa's apology but all she could do was stare back at the brunette impassively. She wanted to forgive, but she couldn't. There was still that pain and guilt and regret inside her that she couldn't let go of and if she didn't put the blame on Rinoa, she didn't think she could go on.

"I hope we can meet again someday, Rinny," Selphie interrupted the silence. She went to give Rinoa a hug.

"Thank you for your friendship," Rinoa told them tearfully when she stepped out of the embrace. She smiled at Seifer as she said, "I wish you happiness for your upcoming marriage. No one is more deserving of it than you."

Seifer scowled at her. "You going to be alright getting home by yourself?"

"Zell here is giving me a lift," Rinoa told him cheerfully. "So, um, take care!"

She climbed into Zell's van without a backward glance. As Selphie waved them off, Quistis went to sit inside the car that Selphie and Seifer had ridden on previously. She felt almost sick to her stomach. Everything was such a mess with Seifer and Rinoa and Squall and her brother that she just wished she could simply disappear.

_The one who needs to be forgiven the most is me_, she told herself.

"Are you okay, Quistis?" Selphie was asking in concern as she peered inside.

Quistis smiled wanly. "I'm fine. I just…miss my home," she lied.

"Okay," Selphie said, taking the seat next to Quistis and patting her hand reassuringly. "We all feel that way."

"Speaking of home, don't you want to go back to Trabia, Selphie? I'm sure Seifer can arrange for something. Your family must be waiting for you."

Seifer scowled at the mention of his name but he still said, "I have some people I know that can take you up north by tomorrow morning if you want to."

"No, no, that's okay," Selphie refused, shaking her head vehemently. "I mean, the truth is, I have nobody waiting for me in Trabia—or anywhere else, for that matter. I'm an orphan."

Quistis was confused. "But back in Timber, you said you got separated from your family and they went ahead of you to Trabia."

For the first time since Quistis met her, Selphie lost the vivacity that was so much a part of her persona. Her eyes watered and she put up a shaking hand to run through her hair, as if forcing to maintain her composure.

"I'm sorry, I lied. My parents died when I was seven and I've been living in an orphanage since then. I went to Timber with my friends from the orphanage to celebrate our graduation. But then the riots started and we were all caught in the confusion and fighting and…in the end, I was the only one left alive."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Selphie. Why didn't you tell me?" Quistis asked, squeezing Selphie's shoulder.

"At first, I didn't want to depress you with my story when we met at that refugee camp. And then, after getting to know Rinoa, it became harder to confess the truth because I didn't want her to feel like she was responsible for my friends' deaths. I've accepted that sometimes bad things just happen and holding on to the grief will only hurt myself the most."

Quistis pulled back, feeling like she had just been slapped across the face. Wasn't that what she was doing—blaming Rinoa and holding on to her own pain and anger?

"I wish I can be like you," she whispered, covering her face with her hands. "I wish I can just let go so easily."

"Quistis, of course you can. I know you feel like it's your fault that your best friend died. But what if you were the one who died instead? Do you want her to feel the way you do right now, instead of moving on with her life? Wouldn't you rather she remember the fond memories you had together, instead of being bitter and full of remorse?"

"But how can I forgive myself when I am the only one who gets to be alive?" Quistis asked her pitifully.

"So you're going to refuse to live? Is that going to make her happy?"

Selphie had her arms around Quistis as the latter wept into her own hands. Everything that she had been holding on to since that time she first saw Xu's lifeless body being carried through the gates of Balamb city, she let loose. She cried until both her and Selphie's clothes were wet and her voice became hoarse. All that time, Selphie kept whispering soothing words to her and patting her head gently.

When Quistis finally stopped crying, she was spent and exhausted. She wiped her face with the hem of her dress, knowing that her makeup—and her disguise with it—was ruined. But a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Her mind felt more clear than she last remembered and she felt a renewed conviction in what she was doing.

Selphie was right. She couldn't just let her life stop when Xu didn't even get to live it to the fullest.

"I'm going to change out of these clothes," she announced, pushing off hair that had matted to her cheeks. "After that, we are going to the carnival to enjoy ourselves and forget all the depressing things that have happened. And then tomorrow, we'll find Rinoa so that I can properly apologise and make up with her."

"I'm getting out of these baggy things too. They're so hard to move in!" Selphie chimed in.

Seifer had been conspicuously silent the whole time Quistis had her cry-fest. He was leaning against the opposite side of the car, staring up at the sky with his hands in his pocket. She didn't know what he was thinking but she did know she needed to talk to him. So she told Selphie to go ahead and change first in order to get a moment alone with him.

"So, you done being mad at Rinoa now?" he asked when it was finally only the two of them.

"Yes, I'm done being mad at her. Mostly, I'm done being mad at myself. And I'm also done with my self-pity." She went to stand beside him, leaning against the car as well so that they were side by side.

"I…refused to be married to Squall because I know better than anyone else how futile it is. I did think I could never get over my feelings for him but I was wrong. I really do love him, but maybe not in the way that a woman loves a man."

Ever since she met Seifer again, she finally understood how it felt to be attracted to someone—which is something that was missing whenever she was with Squall. Being with Squall was familiar and reassuring. He didn't make her heart pound or blood rush the way Seifer could just by being near her. In fact, being with Squall felt _safe_, like she wasn't in any danger of losing herself.

Life with Seifer would never be boring or safe. But maybe she liked the excitement and unpredictability. He kept her on her toes and made her realize things about herself she never knew before.

She also knew that she was going into dangerous territory. He would taunt and prod and cut with his words. But she was not the pushover everyone—and even herself—thought she was. She knew she was more than able to meet him on equal ground.

"Is there a point to this tiresome chatter of yours? If there is, can we speed things up a bit and just get on it?" Seifer was now asking in a bored monotone.

"My point is, when I found out that he didn't love me, I think my pride was wounded more than my heart was broken. I guess getting myself engaged to you was one way of getting back at him. At some subconscious level, I wanted him to feel the humiliation of rejection that I felt as well."

She could tell Seifer was losing his patience so she hastily continued, "I admit that I proposed this marriage between us with less than selfless motives but there's no reason we shouldn't make it work simply because we're only pretending to be in love."

Seifer was looking at her intently, his expression betraying nothing. "Just what are you trying to say, Quistis?"

She faltered then. It was one thing to have that resolution in her head but it was another to actually say it out loud. But she seemed to have not given Seifer enough credit because in a moment, he was leaning in and lightly running his fingers through the hair that had fallen against her face.

"Are you saying," he said in a low voice, his lips inches from hers, "that you want this to be a real marriage in every sense of the word?"

To her mortification, Quistis blushed. Seifer pulled away, looking surprised. Evidently, he was only teasing and she had just given herself away.

"Quistis?"

Without another word, she collected her bag and began to rush off to change but Seifer stopped her by grabbing her from behind. She tried to struggle but he had a firm grip on her wrists and his arms were wrapped around her shoulders so tightly that she couldn't move. The feel of his body pressed against hers was making her senses go awry so she had to force her body to stiffen in order not to melt against him.

"I'm merely suggesting that we stop with all the antagonism and at least try to be civil with each other," she said coldly.

"I don't think civil's my thing," he whispered against her ear. "At least, not with you."

With his free hand, he held her chin and forcefully turned her head to face him. She knew it was coming—had known when she first made the resolution. But it still didn't prepare her for the jolt that traveled down her spine when their lips met. Already she was loosening up and leaning against him as if her bones had gone soft. And when his tongue traced the outline of her mouth, she actually sighed.

So when he turned her around and pushed her against the car, she didn't resist. Instead, she put her arms around his shoulders as their kiss deepened. When they finally pulled apart, her breath was short and Seifer was smiling down at her with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"After all, we have to do something about the sparks."

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A/N: Heeey sooo... it's a new chapter. Somehow I feel like my muse has been taking time off because I'm having trouble getting inspired. While this chapter was in the works, I have no idea how many times I've rewritten it until it has become completely different from what I originally intended it to be. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed and please leave a review to let me know what you think. :D


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